The Catcher and the Pitcher
by tet0889
Summary: If it's too obvious, why were they not aware of it themselves? Will the others stay quiet about it? or will they make them finally realize it? Sawamura and Miyuki's realization of their feelings for each other...
1. Chapter 1

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter One**

* * *

Sawamura Eijun stomped his way from the bullpen, seething. _'That bastard Miyuki, where did he run off to, _again_'. _

He'd been looking for the catcher since this morning. It was Miyuki who smugly told him that they could practice together, and now what? That traitor catcher is nowhere to be found. Practice tonight will be over soon and Sawamura finally lost his _well-know _limited patience (or more like, his exploding impatience).

Sawamura saw Furuya practicing his batting with Harucchi, so he was sure Miyuki's not with the other pitcher. Kuramochi's currently busy struggling with balls Ryo-san is throwing at him and the shortstop nearly strangled Sawamura when he interrupted them, asking about Miyuki. Everyone found it in their good judgment not to answer the aggravated first year, preventing any impending shouting spree that could (and would surely) happen if he finally found the catcher. And not even their coach answered his query. Yeah, he was feeling the love here.

Of course, nothing could make Sawamura even more irritated, no, scratch that, _more_ livid than people not paying him any attention (although truthfully, he was already used to his teammates' exceptional near-deaf attitude towards him.)

Still fuming, Sawamura sighed and finally decided to give up on his search. Dragging his feet as he walked in his irritation, Sawamura went to the shed for his _partner_, hauling the tire out for practice. A few runs would at least rein in his annoyance. Sawamura patted the tire with affection, the only one who never ignored him and never complained of his boundless enthusiasm (Well seriously, if only the tire could talk, complaints are the least thing the pitcher would probably hear).

Feeling slightly better with the prospect of finally getting at least a semblance of practice, Sawamura bounded to the field, his mood somewhat improved. And it totally turn into a full-blown ecstatic when right before reaching his running course, Sawamura saw Chris walking towards the field, probably just coming back from his daily therapy. Sawamura beamed and he immediately razed his way towards his respected senpai.

"Chris-senpai!"

Most of his teammates rolled their eyes, while the others winced and rubbed a hand over their ears. What an excellent way to broadcast someone's arrival. Sawamura will make a good announcer for his loud voice if nothing else.

Chris sighed tinged with a mixture of defeat and fondness when he saw his energetic kouhai running towards him. '_Well, it's nothing new, really.'_ Chris smiled softly when Sawamura nearly tripped on his feet in his hurry to reach him.

"Chris-senpai, thank goodness you're already here! Ne, ne, senpai, can we practice together? You'll catch my pitches right? Practice will be over soon and I haven't even thrown a single pitch today!" Sawamura whined.

Chris frowned. Well, that's not good. Sawamura needed all the practice he could get. He isn't like Furuya, who's naturally gifted when it comes to baseball. Not to mention Sawamura could barely do anything else besides his pitching. Yes. Sad to say, the first year is an extremely horrible batter. Really. Bunting is the only play he can do.

"What about the others? You didn't try asking them to catch for you?" He asked and just like that, Sawamura's good mood gone in a blink of an eye. His eyes flared and Chris blinked, rubbing his eyes disbelievingly. What the—? Chris could swear he saw a dragon peaking from Sawamura's back. Was that an illusion?

"Other catcher, huh?" Sawamura smiled slowly, evilly, and Chris flinched, surprised from Sawamura's sudden flaring temper. The pitcher was burning with fury.

Trembling, Sawamura clenched his fist in front of his face, smirking manically. "Other catcher? Other _catcher? _Haaahh...? Are you by any chance, referring to someone who wears a megane, wearing a stupid cap on his stupid head, always showing that stupid grin on his stupid face, forgetting his own stupid promise to _me_, the most amazing pitcher of all? Heeeeh... I wonder, who other catcher you were talking about, ne, Chris-senpai..?" Sawamura asked, voice dripping with malice.

Chris flinched yet again and he smiled uncertainly. "I-I see. Miyuki's not available huh?"

Sawamura's eyes flashed. "MI-YU-KI? Who's that? Huh, senpai? Who?" Sawamura growled.

Chris shuddered. This is the first time he saw Sawamura this angry. He wondered what Miyuki did this time to garner such reaction from the pitcher. Well, base on what Sawamura had said, Chris mostly figured it out. Miyuki probably escaped again. It looks like the pitcher has a legitimate reason to be angry this time. It'll be better if—

Wait.

Suddenly, Chris remembered something and he frowned. "Now that you mention it, I saw Miyuki this afternoon on my way to the clinic."

Sawamura's eyes widen and he immediately rounded on his senpai, incensed. "Where? Where the hell did that stupid catcher run off to?"

"Ah…" Chris took a step back from the other, wary.

Before the two of them could say another word, Kuramochi move towards them, looking like he had swam on a mud with his dirty uniform. He panted roughly as he hunched on his knees.

"Keh, Ryou-san seems to be in a bad mood. That training nearly killed me!" he huffed. The shortstop straightened up and faced the other two. "What did you say about Miyuki, Chris-senpai? You saw him? Where? That bastard megane, he was acting strange last night, and then he suddenly asked Coach for a break today. What kind of ditching that bastard is doing now?" Kuramochi eyes suddenly widen and he rounded up on his senpai as well, bouncing on his feet. Chris took another step back. Sawamura alone could make him feel wary so close to his personal space, but adding Kuramochi to the equation? It'll be hell. He doesn't know what could happen being so close with these two.

"Nee Chris-senpai, is Miyuki together with anyone when you saw him?" Kuramochi asked eagerly.

He paused, feeling uncomfortable from the implication of Kuramochi's question. Chris ignored Sawamura's screech towards Kuramochi, complaining about the other not telling him about Miyuki's absence earlier and the shortstop headlocking the loud first year to shut him up as Chris thought of what he saw earlier. He was starting to regret that he even said anything about Miyuki. Chris frowned, contemplating if he should divulge what he saw. But then, it's not like it's a bad thing right? What he saw doesn't mean anything right? Right.

"Well, why did you ask? Did something happen last night Kuramochi?" Chris thought it's better to ask first.

Kuramochi stopped his torture of poor Sawamura and loosen his grip around the first year. The pitcher immediately struggled loose and went behind Chris, peaking warily at his senpai's shoulder in case Kuramochi grabbed him again.

"Maa…" Kuramochi scratched his head and started to relay last night events.

...

_Kuramochi's eyebrows twitched yet again when he heard a cell phone rang for the umpteenth time that night. He and Masuko were in a middle of a very important mission and if that ringing caused him to lose, he will definitely bring down his wrath to that stupid catcher. Kuramochi bet five puddings against Masuko-san and he couldn't afford to lose. Well okay, more like he has no money to back up his bet._

_Again, the cell phone rang on top of the study table, distracting him on his game. Annoyed, Kuramochi press a button to pause his game and shouted in irritation. "Miyuki, teme! When are you going to answer that stupid phone? It's distracting me!"_

_Everyone in the room shifted their attentions to Miyuki who was calmly obliterating their Captain in game of shogi, all of them were actually asking the same question in their mind. Truthfully, Jun was just about one step away from blasting the phone right before Kuramochi's outburst._

_Tetsu looked up from his position in front of the shogi board and spoke to his opponent."That's right. It's been distracting me from the start. No wonder I lost every game."_

_Everyone sweat dropped. ' 're just too weak.' _

_Miyuki merely grinned."Maa, maa, it's not that distracting right? Don't mind it."_

"_What do you mean not distracting?! Once is not, but it's been freaking ringing this whole time. Just answer it already!" Kuramochi shouted._

_Miyuki sighed, looking troubled. But they all knew it was just a farce. Suddenly, the phone rang again and before anyone else can react, Kuramochi dived for the phone and answered it._

"_Hai, moshi, moshi. This is Kuramochi. Miyuki, the bastard is being his usual bastard self so—"_

"_Ano, Kazuya is not available?"_

_Kuramochi froze. It's a girl. Wait, a girl? Calling Miyuki? What the—_

_The phone was suddenly snatched from his ear. Miyuki looked at him exasperatedly. "Don't answer someone else's phone, baka. Che." Miyuki brought the phone to his ear as he stepped out of the room. Before the door completely shut closed, they could barely hear him answered back. "It's me. What is it?"_

_Everyone looked at Kuramochi expectantly. They were curious on who was it on the other line. _

_Kuramochi twitched. "It's a girl." He deadpanned. "And from the sound of her voice, a very cute girl."_

_Their eyes widen. "What?!" Jun screeched, while Zono sweat dropped, wondering how the hell the shortstop knew the girl was cute just from hearing her voice alone. _

"_That bastard!" Jun was still cursing while the others exchanged disbelieving looks._

"_But I thought— " Masuko started._

"_No." Tetsu said calmly. "We merely thought of it. It was just a suspicion on our part."_

_Jun huffed. "Che, what are you talking about? It was pretty obvious, you know. We didn't merely think about it. We are seeing it, everyday if you must know."_

_Again, they silently looked at each other. Yeah. All of them can see it. Miyuki likes a certain loudmouth pitcher. And it was obvious to anyone looking. So, who was the girl on the phone then? Some of them can feel a massive catastrophe heading their way._

_..._

After Kuramochi's story, Chris rubbed his chin as he mull over what he heard. Although Kuramochi didn't say it aloud because of Sawamura's presence, he knew they were bothered by that phone call. Everyone can see that the catcher has hidden attraction towards the first-year pitcher, although Chris can also see that Miyuki is not aware of it yet himself, not to mention Sawamura. The boy is the densest creature ever born, honestly.

Chris faced the other two. "Ah well, yes I saw him today. And as you said, he was with a girl. They were talking when they entered a café in town." He said. He didn't mention that the two were talking quite intimately at that. The girl was talking when Miyuki moved closer, tilting his ear towards the girl familiarly to hear what she was saying better.

Kuramochi cursed under his breath, mumbling profanities neither his two companions can decipher. Both the catcher and the shortstop forgot about a certain pitcher who remained silent throughout the entire conversation. They only become fully aware of his presence again when both of them shuddered as they felt a flaring murderous aura coming from his direction. Chris and Kuramochi snapped their heads towards him in surprise.

And well… What they saw made them want to run in opposite direction.

"Sawamura?" Chris asked hesitatingly. They couldn't see Sawamura's eyes behind his hair, but there's no doubt about it, the first year is burning with anger.

"That bastard—" Sawamura gritted out slowly. "So that's the reason he was missing since morning, huh? And to think I even got worried for a minute that he might be sick since he's been out the whole day and now—?"

Both Chris and Kuramochi shivered when the aura behind the pitcher flared even more. Chris can honestly say it now. A burning dragon was definitely floating behind Sawamura.

"That Miyu-gane, just so you wait. Try showing that smug face of yours in front of me again and I'll definitely-!" Sawamura suddenly snapped his eyes open, making both his senpai jumped warily.

This is not good, Sawamura thought as he breathed out. He's losing his temper again and in front of his respected Chris-senpai no less. No, not good.

But Sawamura couldn't get rid of a constricting lump lodged in his throat uncomfortably just thinking about Miyuki choosing to go to a date rather than staying with him to practice. And he didn't even inform Sawamura at all. Well okay, it's not like he was saying that the bastard should get his permission or something. No, it's not like that at all. But the catcher promised him the night before, and Sawamura was admittedly excited that Miyuki volunteered to catch for him. He couldn't even sleep last night in his excitement.

But what did that bastard had done? He'd totally forget about him. Not even uttering a word that he will be out the entire day. Sawamura can feel his ire rising again. No, no. Not good.

Sawamura breathed slowly, exhaling his irritation through his nose. It doesn't bother him. Not at all, so it's not like he cared. This isn't the first time Miyuki suddenly changed his mind about practice or the other sneaking away to escape Sawamura's insistence to catch for him, but somehow, Sawamura can feel that this was something different. That feelings eliciting from within him at the present were different. But as dense as the pitcher could get, he wasn't sure what difference entirely. He just knew it was something… important.

Pushing the thought away from his mind, Sawamura abruptly turned to face his two skittish senpai. He exhaled loudly, trying to calm himself. "Well, it can't be helped. Looks like Miyuki that bastard is _busy—_" He nearly gritted the last word out. "— at the moment, so Chris-senpai, can you catch for me? Practice will be over soon. I want to throw a pitch!" The first-year silently thought _'While imagining that bastard's face in front of the mitt. Heh, I can't wait__' _Sawamura smirked_._

Kuramochi stared back at Sawamura, unnerved. What just happened? He could have sworn Sawamura would bring down hell down their heads with his uncontrollable shouting spree, endlessly complaining about being abandoned by Miyuki in exchange of his date. He was even readying himself to headlock the other to shut him up. But now? Sawamura looked erringly calm it was starting to scare Kuramochi. He shivered.

Oi, oi, doesn't he care at all if Miyuki found a girlfriend? Well to be honest, Kuramochi wasn't even sure if Sawamura likes Miyuki. It's not like the brat thought of anything else besides baseball. And he was simple-minded enough that he practically focuses on one thing at a time. Kuramochi even doubted it if Sawamura ever thought of attraction towards another. Kuramochi was observant enough to see that. But—

Kuramochi tilted his head, confused.

Chris was thinking along the same lines. It's true that they haven't seen any indication that Sawamura may harbor any feelings towards the other catcher besides annoyance and probably, a bit of awe and respect. But attraction? Well, his earlier obsession to Miyuki as a catcher can count as one. Other than that, nothing.

But somehow, just now, Chris saw a tiny emotional slip from Sawamura. Chris was pretty sure that behind the annoyance occupying his expression, the catcher caught a flicker of hurt on his face and if Chris was not mistaken, a hint of jealousy. Chris smiled. Well now, _that_ was interesting.

...

* * *

**Chapter One: **_**An Irate Pitcher**_

_End of Chapter…._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Two**

The next day, everyone flinched every time Sawamura went pass or tried talking to them. The pitcher has been uncharacteristically quiet since the start of their training. Not that a quiet Sawamura was such a bad thing. But everyone agreed having a loudmouth idiot rather than a silent pitcher who glared at anyone who ever mentioned Miyuki's name would be better for their mental health.

Just then, the very person who caused Sawamura's silent fury staggered towards practice, still sleepy on his feet. Miyuki came back late last night and Coach incidentally caught him sneaking back. He was reprimanded for at least half an hour and Rei-chan scolded him again for another half an hour due when he almost fell asleep in the middle of his Coach rumblings.

Geez, the next time he went out, he'll make sure to mail Kuramochi and asked if both the Coach and Rei-chan are still hanging around the dorms before going back. Although he was pretty sure the shortstop won't probably tell him just to see him get caught. Miyuki sighed.

"'Morning." He mumbled sleepily, already dreading his penalty for being late. Miyuki stopped on his track when almost everyone snapped their heads towards him, glaring. "N-nani?"

Jun stomped towards him, fuming. "Miyuki, you brat! Do something about him or so help me I'm tripling your punishment today!"

"Eh?" Miyuki blinked. Punishment? Did the Coach asked Jun-san to punish him in his stead? No wait, if that's the case, then, shouldn't it be Tetsu-san? Miyuki looked at his Captain and found the man scowling as well. What the heck?

"Ano, Jun-san, what do you mean-?" He asked.

Gritting his teeth, Jun tilted his chin towards the second field. Miyuki turned saw Sawamura running, still unaware of his presence.

Miyuki sweat dropped. He totally forgot about Sawamura. He was planning to go to his room last night and apologize but that's when Coach caught him on his way. And Miyuki was so tired after their lectures he deemed to apologize this morning instead.

Staring at Sawamura who were running with a scowl stamped on his face, Miyuki couldn't see his expression from afar, but he could see the first year was running stiffly, like he couldn't balance his arms and legs. The catcher knew it's not a good sign. Sawamura is tense, and Miyuki can practically guess the reason why. Sighing, He faced the others, sending them a lopsided but uneasy grin.

"I'll talk to him." He mumbled, already dreading the conversation. Miyuki jogged towards the first year, rehearsing in his head how to apologize without sounding sorry at all. Well, he has a reputation to upheld, you know. He couldn't possibly show that he was pretty much disturbed with the idea that Sawamura may hate him because he couldn't keep his promise yesterday. Oh no, no. Not at all. Really.

Haaaaah…

Sawamura was still in a middle of his daydreaming (some of them including a certain megane bastard and a _very_ sturdy rope he could tie him with, and probably a few hyenas that could eat the bastard alive and whole) when he suddenly faltered on his feet, a shudder creeping up on his spine. He couldn't explain why, but Sawamura has a sudden urge to flee. A really, _really _strong urge. Sawamura can feel some _unwanted _presence heading his way. Turning around in dread, he saw Miyuki coming towards him, waving.

Sawamura twitched.

"_Sa__ wa~mu~ra!"_ Miyuki called at him cheekily.

Oh, yes. The most infuriating person ever born alive. Abruptly, Sawamura turned away from the irritating sight and sprinted away, leaving the catcher behind in dust.

Miyuki sputtered. '_What the—?'_

"Oi, kura, teme! Why are you running away?! You idiot!" Despite himself, Miyuki proceeded to run after the first year, inwardly cursing to himself. _'You won't get away!'_

Sawamura felt the shudder intensified and looked back. He almost wobbled in disbelief when he found the catcher running after him. And he's fast! _That bakayuki—!_

"Why are you following me, you bastard?!" He shouted.

"Its common sense to chase someone running away, you know?!"

"Hah?! What kind of reason is that?!"

"Then what kind of reason you have running away just seeing someone else's face?!"

"I just can't stand looking at your stupid mug!"

"Haah?! What kind of reason is that?!"

"Don't copy me! If I said I don't want to see your stupid face, then I have the right to do so, Bakayuki!"

"Teme, respect your senpai!"

Those in the field gaped at the spectacle, stunned. What the hell? Is that supposed to be a new kind of flirting? No, a marathon? Both of them looked like sprinters competing towards the finish line. Sawamura even looked like he was on the verge of puking his lungs out, scowling the entire way.

But to be honest, what made everyone a bit surprised was when Miyuki ran after the first-year. Miyuki just didn't do these kinds of things. What the heck? Is it love? Is this his way of showing his affection?

What a pair of complete Idiots.

"Kyahaha! What the hell are those two doing? It's like watching lame movies with lovers chasing each other! _Fast-forward_ version though." Kuramochi snickered. Some juniors who heard snorted under their breaths, while the others shook their heads in mild amusement.

They all looked back watching the two running idiots, unintentionally imagining Kuramochi's words.

"_Why are you running away~?" Miyuki chased, grinning jovially._

"_Stay away! Kyaah! You can't catch me!" Sawamura giggled._

"_Ei-chan!"_

"_Hehe, catch me if you can, Kazu-poh!" _

"_Ehhhhh….. Mou…. I'm coming Ei-chan!"_

"—mura, teme! I said stop running away already!"

Everyone jumped, snapping back away from daydreaming. Few of them flushed, getting flustered from what they saw, while a lot of them shuddered in horror. Oh God. If such thing ever really happens, they will do everything in their power to lock the two idiots away or some of them just might commit murder.

Masuko flushed, fidgeting a little. _'Am I the only one who thinks it was sort of cute?'_ He felt someone patted his arm. Looking down, he saw Ryosuke smiling at him. He beamed, thinking the other third-year feels the same way.

"If that really happens, it will be worth filming, ne? Imagine what Miyuki will do for me if I show it to him? Heeeh…" the other smirked evilly.

Masuko froze, watching hell glinting on the other's eyes. Eh, no. Ryo-chan just wanted blackmail materials he could take.

...

Sawamura panted, already getting tired. Sprinting with all his might while someone chases after him sure did a number on his stamina. But he refused to look in Miyuki's eyes today. He knew he can be angry, (he had the right to do so, dammit!) but Sawamura wasn't sure if his anger stemmed from being forgotten or from something else. Just thinking about Miyuki's date yesterday made him want to turned around and shakes the catcher violently, demanding answers to question he doesn't even know.

And that what made him confused even more. With these kinds of feelings, he was sure it will be detrimental for his sanity if he faced Miyuki today. He just couldn't take it.

Sawamura turned to look back and saw the catcher still following. The bastard isn't even looking winded from all the running while Sawamura, on the other hand, was all ready to fall over. He gritted his teeth.

Not really concentrating on his path and honestly starting to get tired, Sawamura's staggered a bit and his foot caught on something he didn't notice.

He tripped.

Sawamura couldn't react fast enough to prevent his fall. The pitcher closed his eyes, readying himself from being hurt, but instead of pain on his face, he felt it on his stomach. Opening his eyes slowly, Sawamura realized he was caught by someone.

"What are you doing, you idiot? That's dangerous. That's what you'd get for running away." Miyuki panted.

Sawamura froze. Oh god. Close. _Too close. _Miyuki's body is too close. And warm. He can feel the heat engulfing his back. He flushed, feeling the heat slowly spreading on his entire body.

Miyuki tried to hurl him up, but being tired himself, his balance was off and they were both flung onto the ground with Sawamura ending on his lap.

Miyuki stilled, suddenly overly conscious of the load comfortably sitting above him. His arm is still around the first year's waist and his face is almost buried to his hair, inadvertently inhaling the other's scent. Oi, oi, oi. This is— Uhh— this is really bad. He could feel mixture of feelings tumbling on his body from the sudden close contact with Sawamura.

Close. Sawamura's so close. And too close that somehow, it made Miyuki feel thrilled and confused about it. For the first time in his life, Miyuki was suddenly clueless of what to do, or more precisely, how to act.

Should he push Sawamura away? Ah but, it felt comfortable hugging him close, right? What the—? Bad Miyuki!

Then should he stand up and put distance between them immediately? But Sawamura smells so good. He can't possibly— Ah, geez! No! No! No!

Then what the hell is he going to do?

Without thinking, Miyuki leaned close, breathing in again Sawamura's scent through his hair. It smelt of sun, of sweat, a hint of shampoo they all use in bath and underneath them all, is pure Sawamura. Surprisingly, it was a pleasant mixture of scents. Miyuki couldn't help himself and buried his face closer, inhaling deeper. So good.

Something clicked on his mind. Isn't Kuramochi often wrestled the first year, holding him close like this? Everyday. Then, no doubt the shortstop often smelled this scent. Miyuki suddenly tightened his hold, an unpleasant stirring churned inside of him. Somehow, he didn't like that thought. Not at all.

Sawamura could swear his face now resembled Harucchi's hair, it was burning brightly red. He was frozen when he realized he was on Miyuki's lap, but now, he was shaking in embarrassment from being held so tight.

What the hell is this bastard doing? Sawamura realized his awkward position and came back to his senses. He squirmed, trying to loosen himself from the catcher's tight hold.

Miyuki prevented himself from falling on his back using his arms when Sawamura forcefully stood, immediately putting some distance between them. The first year panted while glaring at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

Eyebrows' raised, Miyuki deadpanned. "I thought I was saving you from falling on your idiotic face?"

Sawamura flared. "I'm not an idiot! And that's not what I'm talking about! You- y-you—I mean just now — uhhm-" He hid his face, blushing furiously. Kuso, he can't look at him. He can't meet his eyes.

Miyuki frowned in confusion. Just now? Oh. Ahhh… well… that. Now, that will be awkward to explain, especially since he didn't know what urged him to do so as well. How in hell is he going to explain that, just now, he enjoyed holding the first-year close for comfort? Yeah, he'll say it when hell freezes over. Miyuki thought he'd better act like it never happened. Forgetfulness is one excellent trait he could adapt in this kind of situation. Miyuki looked at Sawamura, intending to tease the other and get away from answering his question when he saw the pitcher squirming on his feet. Sawamura looked totally embarrassed. Well, more like he was attempting to hide his embarrassment.

And Miyuki _thought_ it was kind of cute.

His frown deepened. Oh no, he did not just think of that. Clearing that stray thought from his mind hurriedly, he shook his head slightly and faced the pitcher again. He smirked. "Mah, I was just caught off guard with the way you smell. You badly need a shower, you know."

Instead of a flaring temper Miyuki expected, Sawamura merely stared back, his eyes' watching the other intently. The bastard is lying. Why would you lean in closer if he something smells bad? Well, not like Sawamura could affirm that he smells good either. But what happened just then was—

Sawamura fought another onslaught of feelings rising inside of him. He won't say that he hated it but he won't admit that he liked it either. No, he'll eat his glove first before he admits it at all. But what was that really? If he didn't know any better, Miyuki was really hugging him close and –and –

'—_And Miyuki already had a girlfriend. And they went on a date yesterday too. Didn't he?'_

Sawamura paused and sighed, ruffling his hair absentmindedly. "What do you want, Bakayuki? Why did you even follow me?" He finally asked, not meeting his eyes.

Miyuki was surprised from the sudden change of tone. Looks like Sawamura's already tired of playing around. Miyuki lightly scratched his cheek and smirked, not showing even a hint of a sudden feeling of uncertainty blooming inside of him. "Well, I know I did something wrong yesterday, so I might as well apologized. You know, I know you're an idiot so you were probably angry about it."

This time, the reaction was entirely expected and Sawamura flared. "Teme! You don't sound sorry at all! And what do you mean _probably_ angry? I'm _extremely _angry, you megane bastard! You have some nerve showing your face to me today! And what's with that half-assed apology?!"

"Kekeke. I'll apologize properly once you've learned how to show some respect. I'm your senpai, you know? Call me _Miyuki-senpai~"_

"Like hell! You're not good at all! Be like Chris-senpai and I'll consider it!"

Miyuki smirked. "Then, you can start clinging to me so I can act like Chris-senpai as well. It won't be a problem, right? You always did it with him. _Chris-senpai~_" Miyuki mimicked and snorted under his breath.

"Bakayuki-!" Sawamura was tempted to beat that annoying grin off his face. He gritted his teeth and turned, walking away from the other. "Forget it! I had enough of your stupid face! You can go to all dates for all I care!" Sawamura felt like beating himself from saying that and inwardly cursed. Why on earth did he slipped and said that? _Kuso_, is he still bothered by that? No, he was just bitter because Miyuki was on date while he waited in vain the whole day yesterday. That's all. Really.

Miyuki abruptly stopped grinning and looked towards the pitcher, frowning. "Date? What are you talking about? Dating who?"

Sawamura froze on his track. Turning slowly, he gaped back at Miyuki.

"Eh?"

...

**Chapter Two: **_**Slip of the Tongue**_

_End of Chapter…_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Opening his eyes blearily, Kuramochi Youichi shifted his position on his bed and struggled to get up. His eyes fells stuffy and he can feel a dull pain throbbing on top of his head. He sat up and stared bleakly into space. Heavy. His body feels achingly _heavy._

He wondered if he was still tired from last night's training. Ryo-san's been driving his limits these past few days, making him more worn-out than usual. Just last night, he almost dropped dead before the second baseman took pity on him and proclaimed the training's over. Kuramochi didn't even try to protest like he usually does, although he almost groaned pitifully when Ryo-san asked _(no, threatened)_ him to show his face early today. If Kuramochi ever saw that smug look on Ryo-san's face even once later today, he might just tear his hair out, (or Ryo-san's if he can get away from it.)

'_Maybe a few stretching would help popped these kinks.' _Kuramochi thought and climbed from his bunk sluggishly. Landing on his feet, the world tilt on its axis and he fell backwards on Sawamura's bed, abruptly waking the first year up.

"Wha—!" Sawamura rasped, blinking his eyes rapidly in alarm. He glanced around and found his senpai struggling to stand up from his bed. "Eh? Senpai? Nani? Are you trying to kill me in my sleep?! I won't let you!" Sawamura used his hands to shield himself, readying from any attack.

Kuramochi rolled his eyes. If his legs weren't shaky, he would have kicked the pitcher on his face for his lack of common sense. Geez, there should be limits to stupidity.

"I'm not, ahou. I just got dizzy for a second there." He wheezed, rubbing a hand over his chest to ease his breathing.

Narrowing his eyes groggily, Sawamura studied his senpai flushed face and slight panting. "Kuramochi-senpai, are you sick?" The pitcher grabbed his face and peered into his eyes critically, a bit worried. "You're warm, senpai."

Kuramochi smacked Sawamura's hands away and made his way to the door, wobbling on his feet. '_I already knew that without you telling me.' _He thought.

But he couldn't afford to skipped practice. The tournament is just a few weeks away and everyone needed as much practice they could get. He and Ryo-san synced each other's plays in games, but he knew it was not perfect yet. Kuramochi wanted their plays to be perfect, instinctual and flawless that he wouldn't suffer any regrets just like their lost in last year's tournament. Getting sick is the last thing he needed right now.

"Senpai! Wait! Just stay in bed to-" Kuramochi slammed the door on his way out, cutting off any words from Sawamura.

"Che, just a little sweating and it'll go away, baka" He muttered.

Despite his words, Kuramochi had a hard time during stretching that morning. Every time he moved, it felt like his skin will break off painfully. His head started throbbing each time he spoke and it didn't help with Sawamura's screeching besides him, hovering over him and keeps on insisting that he should just rest the whole day.

"Just shut up Sawamura! I said I'm fine, okay?!" Kuramochi kicked the pitcher's behind, but without his usual strength, Sawamura merely stumbled on his feet. The first-year looked back at him with wide eyes, his concern evident on face. He whined. "I don't like this kind of Kuramochi-senpai at all! You should have sent me flying with that kick just now! See, you're really sick!"

Kuramochi grabbed Sawamura's neck, strangling and shutting the other's up. "Baka! You're loud!" He looked around and sighed in relief when he saw no one's in hearing range. He was thankful it was still too early and a lot of their playmates still haven't arrived yet. Even the other regulars, besides Tetsu-san and Jun-san who are both running on second field, are still missing.

'_Thank God Ryo-san's not here yet." _He thought. _'He might strangle me just for the fact that I caught something. No, he will probably hang me upside down naked, bring out his camera and post the picture in the entire school for my punishment. Uggghh.' _Kuramochi shuddered. Ryo-san must never find out about this. His future well-being is at risk.

Takashima Rei watched from the distance the interaction between the first-year pitcher and the shortstop, thoughtful. She'd been wondering why Sawamura keeps on following Kuramochi when it's about time for his running practice (and everyone know how obsessed the first-year is in following his training regime), when she witnessed the second-year kicked the other. She frowned.

"That's weird. It was a softer kick than the usual." Rei mumbled to herself and continued watching Kuramochi, scrutinizing every movement he makes.

"I think he's sick." Someone spoke behind her.

Takashima turned and saw Masuko behind her.

"You think? He didn't say anything?"

Masuko shook his head. "Regardless of the way he acts, that guy's pretty stubborn. I don't think he'll let it hinder practice so he would probably keep it to himself. Mah, it was unfortunate on his part that Sawamura-chan found out. It just a matter of time before everyone notices."

Takashima sighed. She'd always thought about it, but despite her knack of finding excellent players like Kuramochi, Miyuki and Sawamura, the three of them are just so irritatingly stubborn and twisted.

"Well, we can't have him getting seriously sick. Watch him for me for a while. I'll inform Coach Kataoka."

Masuko nodded. "Hai."

...

Kuramochi grimaced when he missed another ball Sawamura throws at him. His eyes keep watering and he could see two balls coming instead of one. Dropping his bat, Kuramochi put his hands on his knees, wheezing heavily.

"Senpai? You okay?" Sawamura bit his lip worriedly.

Kuramochi didn't answer, now panting heavily. The shortstop straightened himself and wiped his sweats away from his forehead. Hot. _So tired_. He closed his eyes, willing the world to right itself.

"Kuramochi-chan!"

Both of them turned and saw Masuko running towards them.

"Coach wants to talk to you."

Kuramochi shifted his focus to the other side of the field and saw Rei-chan and Coach Kataoka waiting for him. _Shit. _He was found out, huh.

Kuramochi jogged towards Kataoka listlessly, while Masuko and Sawamura followed from behind. The shortstop could guess what the coach will want to say and he scowled inwardly, not liking it one bit. He stopped in front of his coach and readied himself for an ass-chewing.

Kataoka studied the shortstop in front of him. Kuramochi seems unsteady on his feet, which is totally different to the usual quick and sturdy stance the second-year possessed. The shortstop stared at him defiantly. His eyes showing that he wanted to stay and practice. The coach sighed. He wondered why all his players tend to become stubborn when it wasn't needed. Kataoka will go bald early at this rate.

"Kuramochi, you are to be escorted by Masuko to the infirmary. Take you medicine and rest in your room for rest of the day. I will inform you teachers of your condition._ Do not complain." _ The coach narrowed his eyes when Kuramochi opened his mouth and was about to say something.

By now, almost every one near heard what the coach said and shifted their attention towards the shortstop, making him uncomfortable. Kataoka sighed. "If you haven't been feeling better, you should have rested instead of pushing yourself. Pushing yourself while suffering in that condition will not help you get strong. It would only just make you weaker. And same goes to all of _YOU—" _He spoke firmly and shifted his attention towards the other players. "Being a player comes with responsibilities. One of them is never to overestimate you body." This time, Kataoka shifted his gaze towards Sawamura, the person who is most well-known for constantly pushing himself beyond limits. "Is that understood?"

"Hai!" Everyone answered while Kuramochi sighed in resignation and Sawamura averted his gaze sheepishly, mumbling under his breath.

"Did you say something, Sawamura?"

"H-Hai, Boss! Y-You are totally right, Boss! I mean, yes, I understand Coach." Sawamura answered feebly. Kataoka stared at him and Sawamura squirmed. Clearing his throat, Kataoka turned to Masuko. "Make sure to escort him _all the way_."

The third year nodded, grabbing Kuramochi on his elbow while the shortstop mumbled weakly that he could walk on his own. Everyone watched as the two of them walked away.

Takashima turned to Kataoka. "Thank goodness he didn't protest much. Looks like what you said made him concede at the end. I thought he would put up a fight before leaving."

Still following the two players with his eyes, Kataoka nodded. "He was probably sicker than he let on. He knew it's no use."

Jun and Tetsu arrived just then, seeing the last of the two walking away before turning into a corner.

"What happened? Did something happen to Masuko and Kuramochi?" Tetsu asked.

Sawamura suddenly stood in attention, saluting in front of him. "Yes, Captain! I understand Captain! I wouldn't let anything happen to me Captain! The team still needs me as the future ace! Nothing to worry about, I won't get sick at all!" He declared loudly.

Tetsu jumped, startled from the sudden outburst, while Jun shouted back in annoyance, "What the hell are you talking about, you idiot?!"

Everyone just rolled their eyes.

...

Kuminato Ryosuke arrived at practice that morning later than usual. He went to Haruichi's room earlier and found his brother wrapping a gift Ryosuke wasn't even told who's it for. It was one of the reasons why he's feeling a little irritated at the moment. Haruichi usually never kept anything from him, even during the times that he usually ignored his baby brother when he first arrived in Seido. So he was really surprised when his younger brother refused to answer his inquiry. Ryosuke even used all the manipulation he can manage without letting on that he was _really _interested to know the identity of the receiver. He wondered if Haruichi is starting to build immunity to his scheming ways. His younger brother's avoidance was just superb.

Putting on his glove, Ryosuke scanned the field, looking for a certain second-year. He needs an outlet for his displeasure and who's better to bully than his best partner? No, actually Sawamura is the best choice, but he isn't in a mood to endure his screeching at the present, and Ryosuke admittedly find it cute every time You-chan struggled. It was one of the reasons he kept the shortstop practicing until he's all exhausted. You-chan face is the best when he's breathing heavily. It sent shivers down his spine and made him forget all his exhaustion himself.

Well, what can he say? He was born sadistic to the core.

Scanning the field the second time, Ryosuke frowned when he didn't found his partner. _'That idiot, don't tell me he's late and still sleeping at this time?' _But Ryosuke knew Kuramochi is nothing like Miyuki. No matter how late he slept the night before, he still woke up early for practice. Not to mention he asked (_threatened_) him to come early today. Ryosuke was even looking forward to the shortstop's complaints once he showed up late. He was sure You-chan's expression would have been terrific.

Ryosuke found Tetsu among the players and approached him. "Did you see You-chan?"

Sawamura, who was near them practicing his batting with Jun, stood in attention once again. "Hai, onii-san! I won't let anything happen to me, onii—!" Jun kicked the pitcher from behind and Sawamura plummeted onto the ground.

"Like I said, shut up already! Who cares what happens to you, you idiot!"

"Gyah! That hurts, Spitz-senpai! My body's sensitive! I'm a growing boy, you know!"

"Who are you calling Spitz-senpai, you bastard?! And there's nothing _sensitive_ on that thick head of yours, you thickheaded idiot!"

"I said body, not head! Senpai, memory loss is a sign of old age, you know! As I thought, that beard isn't just for style!"

"You bastard—!" Jun chased the pitcher around the field, shouting curses that would have made his ancestors blushed on their graves.

Tetsu shifted his attention back to Ryosuke, acting like there's nothing idiotic going on behind him. "He was here earlier, but he was sent to the infirmary when they learned that he has a fever. Masuko hasn't returned yet, so we didn't know his condition at the moment."

Ryosuke froze, heart suddenly slamming hard. Fever? You-chan? "Wa—" He cleared his suddenly dry throat. "Was it bad?" He asked listlessly.

Tetsu shook his head, staring at him contemplatively. "Not as far as I saw. He was just ordered to rest for today. We will learn more once Masuko returned."

Ryosuke nodded absently, head still full of thought of his partner. "I see."

Now that he thinks about it, You-chan movements were slower than normal last night. He thought the shortstop was merely tired from the constant training and thought nothing of it. No, he was partly to blame. If he didn't push You-chan so hard in every practice, his body could have rested as much as it needed. The second baseman suddenly felt a surged of guilt.

Throughout the training, Ryosuke performed his best play as usual despite his missing partner. At first glance, you won't notice any difference at all, but those who knew him well can see the slight difference in his performance.

Jun turned to Tetsu who was studying Ryosuke as well.

"He's rattled, isn't he?"

"Ah." Tetsu nodded.

"Can't believe to see the day Ryo getting anxious over someone besides his brother."

Tetsu shrugged. "It was bound to happen."

Jun stared at him. "Oh? How perceptive of you Captain."

Tetsu turned and returned his gaze steadily, "That, I am. And _you_ better remember that."

Jun swallowed and averted his gaze, flushing slightly. "What are you saying? Baka."

...

After dinner, Ryosuke was asked by Tetsu to bring soup for their sick teammate while Jun grabbed Sawamura on his neck, making him choked his words when he tried to ask why he wasn't asked to do it instead. Sawamura whined, mumbling under his breath that Kuramochi was his roommate, so it was only logical that he should be chosen. Jun strangled the pitcher harder until Miyuki came on Sawamura's rescue. Miyuki's appearance silenced the pitcher effectively and Jun sighed in relief.

On the other hand, Ryosuke instantly agreed. The third-year's been feeling guilty (he's _worried_, he's just won't admit it) the entire day, especially when Masuko returned and told them that Kuramochi was advised to rest for three days, and was only allowed to return to practice after an entire week of rest. Ryosuke knew it was his fault, so the least thing he can do is to check up on the second-year. With a bowl of soup on a tray on his left hand, Ryosuke opened the door with his right silently and peered inside. He saw the shortstop laid on Sawamura's bed, sleeping fretfully.

Ryosuke carefully put the soup down on the table and stared at the sleeping second-year. His breathing wasn't so bad although it sounded a bit rugged. Ryosuke stared and studied his kohai's face. Just as he thought, Kuramochi is cute no matter how haggard he looked. Looking sick is just as cute on its own.

Shaking Kuramochi slightly, he whispered, "You-chan, wake up. Time to eat." He shook his kohai until Kuramochi shifted on his sleep and groggily opened his eyes.

Kuramochi looked around; gaze landing on his partner's smiling face. He smiled back softly and whispered, "Ryo-san."

He paused. Aree? Ryo-san? His eyes widen and he jerked awake as his brain finally caught up on what his seeing.

"Ryo-san?!" On his haste to get up, Kuramochi yanked his body up without warning, bumping his forehead hard with Ryosuke who was also caught-off guard from the sudden movement. "Ouch!"

Ryosuke clutched his face, eyes tearing up from the pain. _Shit_, that hurts.

Kuramochi fell back on Sawamura's bed, clutching his own face. "Shit, that fucking hurts." He was still nursing his forehead when Kuramochi suddenly felt a murderous aura coming from Ryosuke. He froze.

"_You~chan~"_

Geh! "Ryo-san! It wasn't on purpose, I promise you! I was just surprised, that's all! Even my fever! I was in practice early today! I was waiting for you!" _Gyaah! I'm sooo dead! _

Ryosuke stared at him for a while. Kuramochi stilled, fearing for his life. A silent Ryo-san was never a good thing.

The third-year sighed and flicked Kuramochi's forehead, hard. Kuramochi groaned painfully and grabbed his forehead protectively. "Ryo-san!"

Ryosuke smiled softly, "Baka, if you're not feeling good, you should have rested. It's not like I'll get mad over something serious like this." Ryosuke smile fell. "Besides, it was partly my fault. I pushed you too hard during practice. I'm sorry, You-chan."

Kuramochi's eyes widen. Did he hear it right? Did Ryo-san just apologize to him? No way. And he thought he will be killed for getting sick. Does that mean Ryo-san has a softer side to him towards the others as well and not just for his beloved brother? Somehow, that knowledge made Kuramochi pleased and conflicted at the same time. He was pleased that Ryo-san cares, but he didn't like the thought that he may show it to others as well.

He wanted it all to himself.

Kuramochi flushed when he realized his train of thought and shook his head nervously. What the hell was that?

"You-chan?"

He gave a start. "Ah, it's nothing. You really don't need to apologize Ryo-san. If I hate it, I would have told you no. I know you're training us hard because you want us to be better right? I understand it perfectly."

Ryosuke's smile froze on his face. He couldn't tell him. Kuramochi must never find out that he did it just so can see You-chan's struggling cute face.

Just then, Kuramochi stomach growled, demanding food. He moaned gloomily. "Ahhh... I'm hungry. But I don't feel like eating. Just thinking about food made me want to throw up." He grabbed his stomach and groaned.

Ryosuke smirked. "Ara, Nani? You-chan's acting like a child? Heh, I wonder what the others will say about it."

Kuramochi shook his head fervently, making himself more dizzy than he already is. "No! I'll eat. I'll eat! What did you bring for me?" No one knows what Ryo-san would do if he refused. Kuramochi shuddered inwardly.

Ryosuke drag the table near the bed and removed the bowl's lid. The smell of pumpkin soup drifted throughout the room making Kuramochi nauseous. He swallowed hard.

"You have to finish all of it." Ryo-san smirked, eyes glinting knowingly. Kuramochi swallowed for entirely different reason. He will be killed if he refused.

Kuramochi reached for the spoon, but with all the trembling and wobbling he was suffering, from the fever and Ryo-san's attention alike, he couldn't hold the spoon properly at all. He sighed weakly.

Ryosuke watched as the shortstop struggled to eat. Taking pity on his partner, Ryosuke snatched the spoon away, startling Kuramochi.

"Eh? Ryo-san?"

Ryosuke merely spooned some soup and brought it towards his partner's lips. "Eat."

Kuramochi blanched, and then blushed furiously. What—? _What the hell? This just so—_ahhh! What's going on? Ryo-san been acting weird, but this is just too much. He can feel the heat engulfing his entire face. His heart's beating so hard he thought he was going to faint. _'Nani, nani?! What's is this feeling? Ah, What's the hell is going on?!'_

Oi, Oi, Oi. This is like— Oh God, is he really going to feed him? But why? Ryo-san's not the sort of person to this kind of thing. He's a bully, not a good bully. And yeah, he's twisted. As bad as Miyuki. Could this be a sort of punishment in itself for being sick? Kuramochi suddenly felt faint. Scary. This kind of Ryo-san is scary.

But wait… maybe— Ryo-san's really worried about him? That could be it! Yes, yes. But why?

Pause.

Is—Is— it because Ryo-san…. _likes_ him?

Ahahahaha…. Right.

That's not only scary. That thought was downright frightening.

But aren't they partners? Maybe Ryo-san really likes him. Not just like the kind of LIKE he was thinking earlier, but— ah yes! Maybe it's because he felt guilty? Didn't he say that earlier? He felt responsible of him getting sick. Maybe that's the reason Ryo-san's being attentive now? Yes, that's it!

Kuramochi bit his lower lip. Somehow, that thought sent a pang of disappointment inside his chest. He shook his head, pushing the thought away. Don't think about stupid things. Ryo-san's just being uncharacteristically kind. Nothing more.

Then, it's okay for Ryo-san to feed him, right? It doesn't mean anything. It's not like it's a big deal. Kuramochi looked at the spoon held in front of him, swallowing hard, and turned to look at his partner. Their eyes met.

Ryo-san's feeding him. Crap, yes. That really made him a bit happy.

'_Waaaiiiiit! Youichi, you idiot!_' Is doing this really okay?! This is bad! Bad for his heart! Bad for his state of mind. Shit, he's kind of weak at moment. Physically and emotionally. What if he found himself _liking _Ryo-san because of this?

Shit, somebody help him. He didn't just think of that.

"You-chan." Ryo-san called impatiently. Kuramochi gulped, looking lost. What if Ryo-san's been lying all this time and this is just another form of his torture? Making him _fall _(cough) _for_ him and shoved it right to his face? _Noooo!_

Head's spinning, Kuramochi opened his mouth obediently. "It's delicious." He said tearfully, fearing for his sanity. Ryo-san merely smiled.

Ryosuke inwardly smirked to himself. He knew the other was panicking at this moment. Well, he didn't have any bad intentions when he decided to feed him, but when Kuramochi blushed wonderfully; panic and flustered, he couldn't help himself but to tease the shortstop more. When he saw a bit of pumpkin soup at the corner of Kuramochi's lips, Ryosuke didn't even hesitate.

"Mou, You-chan, you're such a child." He leaned in and licked the pumpkin, using his tongue deliberately slow.

Kuramochi gasped and nearly choked on his soup, eyes getting wider. The shortstop froze, making his every muscle locked on its place, his blood rushed to his face, and his stomach tighten uncomfortably. A jolt of lust spread throughout his body and Kuramochi panted a little. "R-Ryo-san?"

Ryosuke leisurely pulled back, but his face was still close for Kuramochi's comfort. They stared at each other's eyes, one full of lust while the other full of apprehension and desire.

"You-chan…" Ryosuke breathed and leaned once more. Kuramochi swallowed. They we're merely a breath away when—

"—jun-kun, you can just sleep in my room. Masuko-senpai said that he'll take care of Kuramochi-senpai but he can't have you caught the flu as well."

"Ah, geez! Yeah I know. I'll just take some clothes for tomorrow." Sawamura whined.

Both Kuramochi and Ryosuke jumped and immediately separated from each other before the door slammed open. The two first-years peered inside the room and saw the two occupants, one panting and flushing furiously and the other glaring at them with a face so dark both of them thought they will be incinerated where they stood.

The two first-years shivered.

"A-ano—a-aniki-?" Haruichi stammered while Sawamura strategically hid behind his friend, fearful. Nobody claimed Sawamura Eijun is fearless when it's unrelated to any baseball games.

"W-we just came for Eijun-kun things. W-we'll leave right away." Haruichi turned to his friend and whispered hurriedly. "Hura, hurry up, Eijun-kun." Haruichi wanted to leave as soon as possible. With that kind of expression on his aniki's face, he isn't sure how long they can stay alive.

To his credit, Sawamura acted instantly and bustled around the room like a storm, gathering all the things he needed and was out of the room in no time at all, leaving Harucchi behind who could only blinked in surprise. "Harucchi, hurry up!" He called. '_or I wouldn't be able to save you if you were killed!" _Sawamura shuddered.

Haruichi turned towards the two in bed and bowed, hurriedly closing the door. Finally out, the two first years stared at each and swiftly fell on their knees, gasping for breath.

"_Kuso!_ That nearly gave me a heart-attack!" Sawamura panted.

Haruichi nodded, still feeling uneasy. What's with that heavy atmosphere? On a second thought, he didn't want to know.

An awkward silence descended between the two left inside. Kuramochi couldn't look at Ryo-san's face while the other was still fuming, disappointed that his chance were just ruined.

Feeling suddenly weak from all the excitement, Kuramochi panted slightly in exhaustion. Ryosuke saw his kohai's flushed face and remembered that the other was still sick. This was not the right time to pursue his intentions. Grabbing the bundle of medicine he saw on top of the table earlier, he fished out one tablet and a bottled water he brought and turned towards the patient.

"Here you go, You-chan. Drink this and sleep. You need to rest."

Kuramochi nodded weakly and took the medicine from the other. He looked at his partner timidly, "Arigatou, Ryo-san" He mumbled.

Ryosuke merely smiled and stood, gathering the bowl into tray. Kuramochi watched his partner from behind. He wasn't sure what just happened between the two of them, but he was sure of the feelings now starting to stir inside of him. Kuramochi never really thought of this possibility before, not to mention that he was so focus in baseball that he couldn't see anything else besides playing a game, but this feeling, this constricting feeling that practically made him out of breath. This feeling that made him feels invincible and weak at the same time. Kuramochi's not stupid like Sawamura and Miyuki not to realize what feeling it is.

Kuramochi sighed. Why Ryo-san of all people? It's like handing yourself to the devil himself. Geez. This will lead to a lot of awkward blushing and gushing in his future. Kuramochi shifted his gaze back at Ryo-san and found the other readying to leave. Suddenly feeling panic, he sat up and reached out to him, wishing to clear things up before this awkward atmosphere leads to a lot of misunderstandings. Kuramochi moved to grab the other when—

"Ah, You-chan, tomorrow what do you lik—" Ryosuke abruptly turned, causing the tray he was holding to smacked Kuramochi right on his face, sending the shortstop plunged back on his bed. "Aree? You-chan?!" Ryosuke dropped the tray back at the table and rushed to the his side. "You-chan, are you okay?"

Head's spinning, Kuramochi mumbled. "Flowers… I can see fields of flowers, Ryo-san."

Ryosuke shook the other, panicking. "Oi! You-chan. You can't! You can't go in there yet! You idiot, I haven't even kissed you yet!" He shook the other more violently. "Oi!"

The second baseman stopped when he heard a slight snore. This brat, he was knocked out cold.

Ryosuke breathed a sigh of relief and slumped on top of his partner. "You idiot." He muttered softly. Ryosuke sat up a bit and studied his partner's feature. It's rare to see such a serene expression on Kuramochi's face, which always sported smirks and face full of mischief's. Ryosuke smirked softly.

"Geez, it's really hard holding back when you show that kind of face, you know." Ryosuke breathed and leaned in close, kissing Kuramochi's lips lightly.

"Oyasumi, You-chan."

That night, Kuramochi's dream consisted of a pink-haired octopus sucking his face.

…

* * *

**Chapter Three:**_**Bliss in Sickness and in Craziness**_

_End of chapter…._

* * *

A/N: I'll be back on Miyuki and Sawamura's story next chapter. Hope you liked this story…


	4. Chapter 4

**The Cather and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Four**

* * *

_Miyuki abruptly stopped grinning and looked towards the pitcher, frowning. "Date? What are you talking about? Dating who?"_

_Sawamura froze on his track. Turning slowly, he gaped back at Miyuki._

"_Eh?"_

Miyuki cocked his head to the side. "What date are you talking about, Sawamura?"

The first-year frowned. _'What date am I talking about? Isn't it obvious?'_ Sawamura looked back at Miyuki who is now standing up from his position from the ground, dusting his back.

He asked hesitatingly. "Yesterday—uhm—well— w-where were you yesterday, bakayuki?"

Miyuki tilted his head and gave a slight frown. "What's with the sudden change of topic?"

"I'm not changing the topic! Just answer the question!"

The catcher schooled his face in neutral expression. "Out."

"_Heehh~_? Out, huh? That doesn't answer the question at all!"

"Well I wasn't here right? So I was out."

"Bakayuki—!" Sawamura can feel veins popping on his forehead. He sneered. "Nani? Can't answer the question, huh? Feeling guilty aren't we?"

Miyuki raised an eyebrow and smirked teasingly. "And why should I be feeling guilty? It's not like I should get your permission to go on dates, ne, _Sa~wa~mu~ra~_?"

Sawamura sputtered, heat spreading over his cheeks. "T-that's not what I mean! You made me wait the whole day yesterday! I have the right to know where you were! You bastard! And you yourself even said dates! As I thought, Chris-senpai was right! You were with a girl yesterday, weren't you?!"

That wiped the smile off of Miyuki's face. _Shit_. He was seen yesterday. Is that what this is all about? All the glares from his senpais and this tantrum from Sawamura. If the situation isn't so dismal, Miyuki would have appreciated the pitcher's pouting cutely about his so-called date. (For a record, Sawamura's not pouting, he's seething. Anyway, let Miyuki have his infatuated delusions.)

Miyuki watched the irate first-year, pondering the situation. Now, how should he go around with this? It's not like he can claim that it was a mistake. Chris-senpai was the one who saw him, and if he ever said that it wasn't him he saw yesterday, the other catcher isn't exactly an idiot to fall for such a feeble lie. Well, Miyuki's not exactly lying. But there are complicated reasons why he can't say the entire truth either.

"Oi, Miyuki, teme! Are you listening to me?!"

Miyuki turned his attention back to Sawamura and gave him a crooked grin. "I'm listening. Anyway, with that kind of voice, anyone in a five-mile radius could probably hear you."

"Teme!"

He sighed softly and stared at Sawamura, eyes turning serious. Sawamura paused, seeing the look on Miyuki's face. "N-nani?"

"I'm not on any date, especially yesterday." He said, hoping Sawamura wouldn't ask any more questions about it. It's true that Miyuki didn't need to explain anything. He can just say that it was his business alone and he knew Sawamura will leave it at that, though begrudgingly. But Miyuki can't just leave it at that at all.

For whatever reason he couldn't grasp, he didn't want Sawamura to misunderstand. Yes, somehow, Sawamura's opinion matters and he didn't want him to get any wrong ideas over his actions. He didn't want him to think that Miyuki was already involved with someone else, well, not as far as he was concerned. Just _that_ idea he couldn't bear to stay on Sawamura's mind.

Silence stretched long as Sawamura studied Miyuki's face. _What's gotten into him? _He was so sure Miyuki will evade any insistence he will throw at him, but what's with all the seriousness? Miyuki's eyes look—Sawamura averted his gaze and flushed lightly. Miyuki's eyes look intense. So intense he can feel them burning into his skin.

Sawamura gave a sideway glance towards the other. "Who—" He cleared his throat. "Then, who was that girl?" He asked hesitantly. "I mean—who is she to _you_?"

Miyuki's eyes twitched. _'Who is that girl?'_ Like hell he'll say that girl's name out loud. Just thinking about it made him shivered.

"Let just say she's someone from my past." '_That I really hate to think about.' _Miyuki thought with a scowl.

Sawamura frowned. That's not exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Ex-girlfriend?"

"God, no!"

The pitcher's frown deepened from the reaction. "Then— childhood friend?"

Miyuki tilted his head, thinking. "Mah, I guess. Maybe. _Probably?_"

"What the hell kind of answer is that?! That doesn't clear up anything at all!"

"Well, why should I need to clear up anything to you? Hohoho… bothered aren't we? Nani, Sawamura, getting jealous?" Miyuki asked teasingly.

"I'm not! Why would I be?!" Sawamura huffed.

"That's what I want to know. Baka." Muyuki flicked the other's nose. Sawamura smacked his hand away, glaring daggers. "You're acting like a jealous girlfriend, you know." Miyuki grinned gleefully.

Sawamura left sputtering again, blushing furiously. This megane bastard! He just knew exactly what to say to make his blood boil. Sawamura turned and walked away, muttering curses under his breath.

"Oi, where are you going?" Miyuki called out.

"Do you really have to ask? Bullpen! You have some making up to do, so catch my pitch already, you lying bastard!"

"Who's lying?!" Miyuki jogged after him.

"Shut up!" Sawamura growled back, still hiding his blushing face.

"He just won't admit that he's jealous." Miyuki muttered loudly, intending the other to hear his words.

Sawamura walked faster, almost running. "You can have ten girlfriends for all I care!"

Miyuki raised an eyebrow and grinned. _'Say that when you don't have that kind of expression on your face.'_

Sawamura panted as he run. He didn't get any proper answer from Miyuki, and to be honest he was bothered by the way Miyuki refused to answer who that girl is. Well, not like he cared, really. It was just—you know—curiosity on his part. Or _annoyance_, probably. It's not like he felt relieved when Miyuki denied vehemently that she wasn't his girlfriend. No, he's not. Really. (Yeah, right.)

Sawamura blushed. He was really bothered, wasn't he? So bothered he was starting to question his own questions that questioned his own—_Gyaahh! _ Even his inner monologue was working against him!

Was he really bothered by the mere thought of that girl going out with Miyuki? Sawamura can feel an answering loud thumping on his chest. His heart's constricting painfully. Something is going on inside of him. Something's changing. Something Sawamura isn't sure he's ready to find out.

Sawamura looked back at Miyuki and found him jogging towards him, eyes glinting with mischief and a smirk on the corner of his lips.

His heart slammed harder and he sucked in a breath. He can feel heat spreading throughout his body, the same way when Miyuki held him just a while ago. Sawamura suddenly felt dizzy. What's going on with him? Just one look in that bastard direction and he's already feeling disoriented.

Why?

...

Jun snatched his baseball cap on top of his head and put a hand on his waist, eyes glaring. He was itching to grab someone and just shook them violently until he let out his frustrations. _Those two idiots_. Just watching them acting so dense made him want to tear his hair out.

"You're exaggerating." Someone spoke behind him.

"Haaaahhhh?!" He spun around and saw Tetsu, Masuko, and Ryo coming towards him.

"Oh, Masuko, how's Kuramochi?"

Masuko shrugged. "He's fine. He already took his medicine and he's resting in our room. But he needs to rest for the next three days and he can't come to practice for the rest of the week."

"I see." Jun shifted his gaze towards the second baseman. Ryo merely stared back at him.

"What's got you frustrated, Jun-chan?" Ryo asked, seeming to guess a question heading his way and tried to steer the conversation away from him.

Jun blinked. He shook his head and glowered once more when he remembered what got him so irritated. Jun tilted his chin towards the bullpen and everyone turned to look. Miyuki and Furuya were practicing while Sawamura and Ono talked. Ono was trying to correct Sawamura's form and was holding the pitcher from behind, correcting his angle as Sawamura lifted his leg to pitch.

Everyone watched the scene for a while. At first, nothing seemed out of ordinary. But the longer they've watched, they've finally saw what Jun was talking about. If Miyuki shot another glower towards Ono's back anymore heated than they already were, they were afraid the other catcher will burn to crisp. They can see Ono sweats dropping, trying hard to ignore the murderous aura coming from behind. They can also see Miyuki was just itching to grab Sawamura away from the other catcher.

Sawamura's the same. Every time Miyuki stood and went close to Furuya or complimented the other pitcher, Sawamura scowled, making Ono huffed frustratingly. The first-year was subtly following the other with his eyes, flushing lightly every time their gaze connected. They can see Ono barely restraining himself from strangling the first-year and just be done with it. Jun hoped he will.

"And the two of them thought they were being subtle." Ryo smirked.

Jun scowled, squeezing his baseball cap tightly on his hands. "Just watching them makes me want to—ARGHH!—and—Guuhhh!— and—Oraaa—that makes me want to-grrrr!-_Kuussooo!_—and—glaaghh!—Just LIKE that! You know?!" He huffed frustratingly.

Everyone sweat dropped. Is that a dinosaur language? That doesn't make any sense at all.

Ryo snorted under his breath. "Nice vocalization."

Some players behind them who also heard Jun's antic snickered, making the third-year scowled towards them. "Oraaa! What are you laughing for?!"

"You're right. Those two are just too troublesome to handle, aren't they?"

All of them shifted their gaze and saw Chris and Tanba heading towards them.

Tetsu nodded. "I don't know what kind of talk they had yesterday, but they've been acting like this since last night. I guess it's a progress, but at this rate, they wouldn't be able to concentrate during practice."

'_I think getting them together would just make them more distracted.'_ Tanba thought, but didn't dare say it out loud. The rest of them were already acting like schoolgirls trying to matched-make their two kohai. Who knows what will happen to him if he voiced out his _unnecessary _opinion?

Masuko murmured. "If only we can find a way to make them realize their feelings sooner."

Jun winced. "Like that's easy to do."

"Actually, I have an idea." Chris piped in.

All of them stared at the catcher, surprised. Chris was the last person they thought would gave off a suggestion. Not only he's a bit protective of their loud-mouth pitcher, the guy was just too serious to the core. Tanba nearly choked on his own tongue.

"All of you are thinking that I'm too serious to suggest an idea, aren't you?"

They all jumped, flabbergasted, and shook their heads fervently.

Chris merely smirked. He gestured the others to come close and they huddled in a circle. Chris whispered his suggestion and they all gape back at him, stunned. They couldn't believe such thing ever came out of his mouth. Chris, the ever straight-laced player? Will miracle ever cease?

"You're all thinking of something impolite, aren't you?"

Again, they all jumped and shook their heads. _'This guy can totally read minds.'_ Jun thought, sweat dropping.

"Well? Think that'll work?" Ryosuke asked.

Chris shrugged. "It's better than nothing." He smirked. "Besides, aren't you curious of what they will do in that kind of situation?"

They all exchanged looks of doubt. Then, all of them suddenly started smirking evilly. Tanba shivered. He may not like Miyuki too much, but this time, he can only pray for his two kouhai.

...

Sawamura just came out from his bath and was heading towards Harucchi's room, humming to himself. Masuko insisted that he couldn't sleep in their room tonight because of Kuramochi's flu so he was bunking with his friend. He was just turning at the corner when someone called out his name.

"Oi! Sawamura!" The first-year turned. He grimace when he saw Jun and Tetsu heading his way.

"Nani, Spitz-senpai? Did the two of you lost you way?"

Jun smacked him right on his head and Sawamura whimpered.

"That hurts senpai!"

"That's for being an idiot! And don't call me Spitz-senpai!"

Tetsu coughed lightly and threw Jun a pointed look. The vice-captain scowled. This brat just made him forget their purpose of being here.

Tetsu turned towards the whining pitcher. "Sawamura, your tire, you forgot to return it back. We saw it at the field just now."

Sawamura's eyes widen. "Nani?! No way! I've just retuned it before going in, that's for sure!"

Jun rolled his eyes. Well, at least the brat's not suffering from any short-term memory loss. That's a plus for Sawamura in his opinion.

"Well, we don't care. Just put it back or else one of the janitors may find it and throw it away." He said.

Sawamura's eyes got even wider if possible. _His tire!_ His best partner! He sprinted away hurriedly, a bit in a panic mode. "Thanks for informing me, senpai, Captain!"

The two third years watched the pitcher dashed away. They looked at each other and Jun smirked.

"Well, that went easy, isn't it?"

...

Sawamura was still fuming as he hurled his tire inside the shed. That bastard Furuya, he probably stole his tire again for his late-night training and just left the tire lying around after he used it. He'll make him pay for it tomorrow.

He was just putting the tire beside the cupboard holding the torn bats when the door suddenly slammed open, making the pitcher jumped. He spun around, readying for any attack.

Miyuki, who was bringing in some balls in a cart, tilted his head to the side. "Aree, Sawamura?"

"Geh! Miyuki! What the hell are you doing here?!"

The catcher raised one of his brows. "Returning the balls after practice, obviously." He drawled. "Chris-senpai asked me to. And what about you? I thought you already took your bath?"

Sawamura about-faced. "Who cares what I do? It's my business."

Veins popping on his forehead, Miyuki dropped the cases containing the balls he was holding, and approached the first-year languidly. Looking uneasy, Sawamura tried to step back away, but Miyuki suddenly moved quicker before him, reaching towards him unexpectedly. Before Sawamura can react, Miyuki pinched the other's cheek, and pulled hard.

"You brat. What kind of attitude is that towards your senpai, huh?"

"Stoff fulleng, yo' bashtar!" Sawamura struggled, words muffled almost uncomprehendingly.

"Say let go of me, _Miyuki-senpai_."

"I dent waft tho'!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Again." He pinched harder.

Sawamura's eyes were already in tears, glowering towards the catcher. Miyuki inwardly gasped. What the—

That face looks strangely—_ erotic_.

Trying to will the tightening of his stomach to ease, Miyuki pinched Sawamura's cheek harder one last time and let go, intending to leave immediately. Unexpectedly, at the same time, Sawamura tried to pull away, causing the momentum from both side to send the two of them toppling onto the ground, Sawamura ending up at the top of him. _Again._

Both of them yelped in surprise.

"Ouch, ouch. That hurts…" Sawamura's whined, rubbing his head in disorientation. When he came into, he blinked, realizing his position. _Wha—?_

Miyuki winced. "Ugh, I've thought about it yesterday, but you're really heavy, aren't you?" He grabbed the back of his head, looking for any damage.

Sawamura flushed red and tried hurriedly to right himself, a bit alarmed, and his stomach gradually feeling queasy. Again, both of them tried to move at the same time, and his knee jabbed Miyuki right on his stomach. Hard.

Miyuki doubled-over in pain.

"Teme, stop moving! At this rate, you'll kill me before you can stand up properly! Stay still!"

Sawamura froze, halting all his movements, even his breathing. He looked down at Miyuki and gasped inwardly, realizing their faces just a breath away from each other.

Sawamura gulped. Close. They're so _close._

Miyuki looked up from his muttering and found Sawamura's face mere inches from him. He sucked in his breath, heart slamming hard behind his chest. He can also feel Sawamura's thumping heart against him, both pounding resonates with each other and spreading within their bodies.

He didn't notice it earlier because he was a bit preoccupied of the pain on his stomach, but their position ended up of them being too close. So _disturbingly _and _erotically _close. _So close_ he can feel Sawamura's breath mingling with on his own.

Miyuki stuttered a breath. "Sawa—"

Just then, an audible click echoed throughout the room, making the both of them froze, and they stared at each other blankly.

What the hell—?

...

* * *

**Chapter Four: **_**Chris' Unexpected Suggestion**_

_End of Chapter…._

* * *

A/N: Phew! Another hurdle passed… kekeke… Oh, thank you for all the reviews and comments; they were all truly very much appreciated.

And, oh yes, I planned to write chapters dedicated to the other pairings as well so look forward to them...and.. I think this is very much all I needed to say… Kakaka... I hope everyone loved this chapter... Look forward for the next one…


	5. Chapter 5

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Five**

* * *

_Just then, an audible click echoed throughout the room, making the two of them froze, and they stared at each other blankly._

_ What the hell—?_

"Wh—? " Sawamura stuttered, eyes growing wide.

Miyuki lifted his brow and craned his neck a bit to look at the door. "Eto ne… I think we were just _locked_."

Sawamura stared back at him blankly.

Locked? Inside? With Miyuki? _Alone_ with Miyuki?

_Shit. You've got to be kidding me._ This is not good. Not when he was having these confusing feelings towards this stupid catcher_. _No, not good at all. This situation will only leads to a lot more of conflicting feelings he wasn't yet ready to find out. _(Yeah, well, the situation was sure as hell already making him feel conflicted. Lying on top of Miyuki is oddly satisfying.)_ Sawamura turned scarlet at his thought. He started squirming on top of Miyuki frantically.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sawamura shouted loudly and hastily attempted to stand up from his position—

When suddenly—he was pulled back down when something restrained his left leg.

Blinking, Sawamura looked backwards and saw his pants caught on something.

He tried to pull his leg harder— it wouldn't budge. Sawamura started panicking. "You've got to be _kidding_ me!" He screeched.

Miyuki grimaced painfully. His stomach was still throbbing in pain and Sawamura's movement aggravates it more.

"Didn't I tell you to stay still?!" He hissed.

Eyes flashing in irritation, Sawamura squirmed even more. "This is not the time for you stupid stomach, you bastard! I swear, if we're really locked, I'll kick your stomach so hard you'll feel it in a week!"

Miyuki was now really feeling the soreness getting worse and Sawamura's thrashing on top of him are getting more hurried. Grabbing Sawamura's hips innocently, Miyuki's grip tighten as he tried to still Sawamura's writhing. "I said stay still, you idiot!"

Sawamura narrowed his eyes. "Who cares about—"

Pause.

'_A-Aree? Just now— M-_ _Miyuki's hands, they're on'_—His eyes widen. _'Don't tell me—'_

Turning his head slowly to look at his back, he gasped silently. '_No way!'_

Sawamura started to feel the heat engulfing his entire face. Miyuki's hands—the bastard's gripping his ass tightly, flushing their bodies' so close Sawamura can feel his body covering Miyuki's completely. He started to feel his back tingling from where the catcher's grabbing him, sending shivers throughout his body and making his breath clamped on his chest.

"T-teme— y-your h-hand—"

"Huh?" Miyuki looked up, confused.

Sawamura's throat bobbed as he swallowed audibly, his cheeks now blushing furiously. An odd tingling was now starting to spread out on his entire body, making his stomach knot uncomfortably. He clenched his teeth and gritted out. "W-where do you think your hands' touching, you b-bastard!"

Miyuki blinked. "Hand? What are you talking—?"

He froze. Hand? His _hand_? Where's his hand?

Clenching them voluntarily, his eyes grew wide as he realized what Sawamura was sputtering about. Staring back at the pitcher with an incredulous look, Miyuki became completely aware of his hand cupping Sawamura's ass, the mound oddly fitting perfectly in his hold.

"M-mah—t-that's—" Miyuki started to stutter himself.

"Just-Take-It-Off." Sawamura hissed, uttering each word harshly.

"Y-yeah, all right." Miyuki blinked again. "Eh? T-take it off? You mean—I can—?"

Sawamura stared down at the catcher in confusion and frowned. _Huh?_

"You mean—I can take off your _pants_?"

Eyes widening, Sawamura choked on his tongue. He grabbed Miyuki's neckline and shook the other furiously.

"Just what the hell is going on with that brain of yours?! I said take off your hands! Your HANDS! No one said anything about pants! You perverted bastard!"

Miyuki grinned wolfishly. "I'm kidding. Geez." _Che. _

"Now!"

Rolling his eyes, Miyuki removed his hand away from the Sawamura's _(delectabl_e) ass, moving it upwards onto his back. Miyuki can feel the heat of Sawamura's body seeping through his clothes and into his hands. His palm tingled with heat.

Mesmerized, Miyuki tentatively glided his hand on Sawamura's back, slowly tracing his curves with his fingertips. He smothered his palm on top of Sawamura's shirt, feeling the heat of his skin underneath and his muscle tensing as Miyuki continued his curious exploration.

Hot. Smooth. Miyuki tighten his hold, drawning in Sawamura closer to him and he inhaled.

There is it again, Sawamura's scent. This tantalizing scent from yesterday when he held the pitcher closed. This scent that send an overwhelming urge within himself to grab Sawamura close and hold him tight. This addicting scent. Miyuki leaned his face closer at the croak of Sawamura's neck, breathing in deeply.

God. _So Good_. He wants to bottle it up and stored it for future use. And he sure as hell knows what good use it would be.

Miyuki stiffen when he heard Sawamura's quick intake of breath.

Looking up, his eyes met Sawamura's. The pitcher was staring down at him with eyes glazed, panting slightly. Miyuki sucked in his breath.

"W-what the hell are you doing?" Sawamura whispered breathlessly.

Miyuki swallowed hard. _Shit. _He can feel his body starting to react. With Sawamura's scent still lingering all over his senses, Miyuki can feel the stirring heat started coiling on his stomach, sending wonderful shivers over his spine.

"What do you mean?" Miyuki breathed huskily.

Yeah_. Double shit_.

"Y-you—" Sawamura licked his lips slowly, mind's getting more blank from the way Miyuki keeps staring at him. His cheeks darken even more.

Miyuki's eyes lingered to Sawamura's now so wet and so full lips, his breathing coming out in small puffs. He wants to bit them and suck on them so bad. Flickering his eyes back to Sawamura, his heart jumped with desire. Sawamura was looking down at him so _deliciously_.

Cautiously, he glided his hand up to Sawamura's head, fingers stroking his hair fondly. Miyuki pulled, dipping the pitcher's head downward.

"Sawamura." He breathed out, lips tingling in anticipation.

Miyuki didn't know what's gotten into him. He was in a total trance of Sawamura's intoxicating presence. What he was about to do defies all logic he kept insisting to himself for the past few months.

The way Sawamura moves, the way Sawamura smiles. The way the pitcher never gave up and always pushing himself to be better, making Miyuki admire his tenacity.

The way Miyuki was secretly disappointed that he was appointed to form battery with Furuya rather than with him. The way he feel agitated that Sawamura eventually accepted Chris-senpai as the most suited catcher for him, and completely disregarding Miyuki's presence on his continuous growth.

The way Miyuki was totally rattled that others found it easier to get close to Sawamura, closer than Miyuki could ever be. The way sometimes, he wanted Sawamura's attention directed to him alone, throwing in rude remarks that would lead to the pitcher's paying his utmost attention towards him. The way he wanted Sawamura's time all to himself.

Everything Miyuki tried so hard to ignore. Everything that he tried so hard to reason out logically to himself, denying the existence of these overwhelming feelings. Everything is blowing away. And so were the reasons blurring his mind.

Sawamura swallowed hard, eyes flickering close. He can feel the catcher's breath fanning on his own lips. His breath so hot it's making Sawamura's face blushed furiously.

Why? Why is he letting this to happen? Why isn't he stopping this bastard from k-ki- (_gulped_) _k-kissing_ him? Why is it that instead of panicking from this sudden turn of events, he was brimming with anticipation? He can feel his body coiling in itself, his muscles stiffening in expectation as he waited for Miyuki's lips connecting to his.

Their lips were just a mere breath away when—

Suddenly, a loud bang boomed outside the shed, startling them both. It sounded like a thunder echoing on the ground, tumbling away in every direction.

The two of them jumped, surprised, and looked at the direction of the noise.

"What's that?" Sawamura asked. His voice came out still a tad breathlessly.

Miyuki gritted his teeth and banged his head back onto the floor, seething. '_Kuso… What the hell? Just a little bit more!'_

_..._

"You bastards! What the hell are you doing here?!" Jun gritted out to the freshmen who just appeared out of nowhere and scared the shit out of them third years who were spying outside the shed.

The three freshmen were talking boisterously when one of them tripped over the bat Tetsu left on the ground, the captain so engrossed with their activity. The first-year stumbled on his feet, sending all the balls he was carrying in a case flying in every direction. Jun's ears were still ringing from the loud thundering noise the balls made when some of them flew to the old metal sheets lying beside the shed.

Chris shook his head lightly, ears still ringing as well. He saw all the others doing the same.

"E-Eto... Coach asked us to return the balls." Kanemaru explained warily.

"By the way, what are you all doing here senpai?" The other first-year asked loudly, so loud it echoed throughout the surrounding field.

Jun instantly rushed towards the first-year and slammed his body hard against him. The first-year gasped in astonishment and shouted in surprise when Jun clamped a hand over his mouth, shutting him up.

"Baka! You're loud!" Jun hissed.

"Ugah!" Masuko helped Jun in restraining the freshman. The first-year flailed frantically, fighting hard to breathe.

"You leave them here. We'll just take them inside." Chris said to Kanemaru.

"But—" Kanemaru hesitated. Coach assigned them this work. What if the third-years forgot about it? All of them looked a bit pre-occupied when they stumbled upon them. He was even sure they were peeking inside the shed, muttering between themselves. Just what's going on in there that made these incredible players acting like children spying on their enemies, whispering to each other furiously like a national security depended on it? Well, he was sure as hell never wanted to find out.

Chris smiled lightly. "Don't worry, I'll take responsibility. I'll bring the balls inside myself."

Kanemaru blinked. "A-Ah, hai."

Well, what more can he say? It's Chris-senpai after all. And he said it himself so Kanemaru thought there won't be any problem. Although he was pretty sure they just wanted to get rid of them quickly. The way Jun-senpai was glaring at them was proof enough in his opinion.

"Ja, I guess its fine." Kanemaru and the other first-year, who was finally freed from Jun-senpai and Masuko senpai's tight hold hurriedly left their cart beside the shed, while the other first-year who was gathering the balls that was blown away returned as well, putting his own cart beside the two others.

The three freshmen bowed their heads and immediately scattered away. They don't want to have anything to do with the third-years undoubtedly evil scheming.

...

Still breathing hard, Sawamura looked back down at Miyuki and flushed deeply when he realized what could have happened just a few seconds ago. Disregarding their positions completely, he quickly stood on his knees and pushed himself away from the other, ripping his own pants in the process.

"Wh—?" Miyuki suddenly felt the absence of weight from above him and shifted his attention back to Sawamura. The pitcher was blushing so much, his face so red Miyuki is sure he could fried an egg on it.

He sighed, feeling a bit disappointed. Well, it's not like he didn't get anything from it. Now, at least, he was a bit aware of his feelings. And he was pretty sure with the way Sawamura responded to their _almost _kiss, (_Yeah, well noted_) it's possible that the other returned those feelings and it'll be easy to persuade the pitcher on what he had store in mind.

But that doesn't mean he'll change that much, Miyuki affirmed to himself. His teasing would just be on the _seeking-the-attention-of-his-crush_ kind of teasing. Despite himself, Miyuki smirked mischievously in anticipation.

Sawamura saw the other grinning and felt his temper flared. _This bastard_. He was just probably teasing him again when he almost k-ki-_kiss_ (_cough_) him just a while ago. He's probably laughing at him when he almost got carried away. Is that it? Was Miyuki not serious about it at? Was he merely playing around earlier?

Somehow, that thought sent a pang of pain in his heart. Sawamura clutched the front of his shirt, trying to ease the pain. He breathed in slowly, his temper increasing from his thoughts.

Narrowing his eyes, he gritted out. "What so funny?"

Miyuki sat up and turned to look back at the pitcher. He saw Sawamura seething, his hands clenched on his side. Miyuki grinned wider. Somehow, his anger expression looks—

—_so cute._

Ah, Geez.

"It's nothing." He replied, smirking still.

"What do you mean _it's nothing_? That grin just now totally means a lot of things!"

Miyuki smirk widen. "Hoho, and what kind of _things_ would that be? Can you guess, huh, _Sa~wa~mu~ra_?" His eyes glinted knowingly, hinting to Sawamura that it was obviously connected to the kiss that almost happened between them.

Sawamura huffed and turned his back from Miyuki. Touching his cheeks with his hands, Sawamura willed his blushing face to subside. Just seeing that look on Miyuki's face made his heart squeezed unbearably, the pain from before completely forgotten.

Sawamura bit his lip. These rollercoaster feelings are making him dizzy.

Miyuki covered his mouth with his hand. He can feel another grin trying to break out of his face as he caught a glimpse of Sawamura's red ears.

Geez. Just how cute can his pitcher be? Miyuki was starting to see that he really likes everything he's now seeing and discovering about Sawamura.

Miyuki tilted his head, smirking. He's not even aware he had a scent fetish. Well, it was probably just with Sawamura. He can't imagine enjoying another guy's scent like that. Just thinking of sniffing Masuko-senpai or Jun-senpai made him shiver inwardly.

_That,_ he was not willing to find out.

Sawamura strode towards the door and turned the knob frantically. If he stayed another minute with this megane bastard, he's pretty sure he'll go crazy.

"_Kuso!_ It's really locked! Just how did this happen? Did the door locked itself accidentally when you entered? This is your entire fault! You did this on purpose, didn't you?!"

Veins popping on his forehead, Miyuki pushed the pitcher back away from the door a tad gently and studied the door closely in contemplation.

Since the shed served as an equipment room, it was designed that the door could only be locked outside. But it's the type that cannot be locked without a key, and it's either their Coach or Jun-san had that key. In that case, this situation comes down into two things; the person who locked the door didn't notice them and they were accidentally locked inside, or someone, or more '_someones'_ (_Miyuki rolled his eyes_) locked the two of them in purpose. Miyuki believed it's the latter. They were being loud when the door was locked. It's impossible for them not to be noticed.

In other words, they were locked _in purpose_. Miyuki frowned. But why? He was pretty sure the third years were behind this. Unless—

He turned around and walked away from the door, rubbing his chin contemplatively. Unless they _knew, _or more probably suspected— about him and Sawamura.

The pitcher was already fuming when Miyuki stepped back from the door, the catcher's glasses glinting in the dark with a thoughtful expression on his face. Sawamura turned to looked back at the door and slammed his palm on it repeatedly, calling out outside for help.

Miyuki rolled his eyes. "No one's going to open it."

Sawamura looked back at him and opened his mouth, readying on his tirade. But one look on Miyuki's smirk clamped him up. He hastily turned his back from the catcher, hiding his blushing face.

'_Ahhh! Help me! Someone! Chris-senpai! I'm going crazy! Onegai!'_

Sawamura sighed heavily and strode towards the door, thumping his head hard on it. He studied the door closely but he can't see any other way to open it. Agitated, Sawamura growled, took a few steps back away and lifted his foot up; readying to kick the door open.

For some reason unknown to the both of them, Miyuki suddenly strode back in front of the door. Sawamura shouted his warning, but it was too late. His foot connected at the back of Miyuki's knee, kicking the catcher hard.

"_Ouch!"_

For the second time that night, Miyuki doubled-over, clutching the back of his knee as he went face down onto the floor.

Sawamura rushed to his side, panicking. "Oi, Miyuki! Are you okay?!"

Miyuki glared up at him, his eyes tearing up a bit in pain. "What do you think?" He gritted out sarcastically. God help him, but this idiot is a total accident-prone. Miyuki shuddered just thinking of spending his life with this dumbass. He was sure he'll die young at this rate.

...

The bell rang throughout the school and everyone stood from their seats, some of them gathering their lunch from their bags while the others hurriedly went out to buy something in the cafeteria. Chris was among those who went out of his classroom to buy some lunch, when he stumbled on Kuramochi and Jun walking and speaking in the hallway.

"Kuramochi, how's your fever?" Chris called out and walked beside the two.

The shortstop grinned back at him sheepishly. He looked alright, but his bleary eyes shows that he wasn't back on his old energetic self yet.

"I'm fine, senpai. It's been three days already. Just a few more days and I'll be back practicing!"

Jun shook his head. "Like I said, don't rush it or it'll get worse. Che. All of you kouhai are so troublesome."

Kuramochi lifted his eyebrow, interested. "Nani? Did something happen with the others?"

Jun and Chris exchanged knowing looks. Seeing it, Kuramochi's eyes widen. Being a sharp person that he is, he caught on quickly. "Don't tell me—_those two_?!"

Jun grinned. "Who's two?"

Kuramochi pouted. "Mou, senpai! I want all the details! All the juicy details!"

Chris smiled and thinks back during the night three days ago. Because of the _unfortunate_ accident of Sawamura kicking Miyuki, the third years deemed it better to unlock the two out, although Jun struggled not to kick the pitcher into a pulp. All of them showed up and pretended that they were returning the balls they were carrying (Thanks to the first years for a useful cover-up).

Chris was even impressed with Isashiki's superb acting. He was shouting and admonishing the two of them for their stupidity, while Miyuki watched them contemplatively. Chris was sure the other catcher caught on of what they did, while Sawamura entered a shouting spree with his senpai, claiming that it was not their fault. Well, base on what he's seeing on Miyuki's face after the locking incident, he was pretty sure Miyuki discovered and experienced something fruitful_. 'Mah, besides the near-kiss incident, I guess. That was a bit disappointing. Really.' _

So absorbed with his thought, Chris was caught-off guard when someone bumped into him. He immediately extended his arms, catching the other who nearly stumbled back from the force of their collision.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying any atten—" Chris blinked.

The girl smiled lightly. "Me too, I wasn't paying any attention myself, so I apologize. Well, then-" The girl bowed and continued on her way.

Kuramochi and Jun stood beside him. "That's not good Chris-senpai, bumping into girls like that. If Tanba-san saw you—kyahaha!" He snickered. Jun smacked him on his head.

"That girl—" Chris murmured, turning around to looked back and watching the girl strolling her way into the crown.

"Huh?" Jun and Kuramochi looked at him questioningly. "What about her?"

Chris frowned. "That girl—I'm sure. That's the girl I saw last week."

"Last week?" The other two asked, confused.

He nodded. "Ah. The girl I saw with Miyuki."

Both of them stared blankly back at him. Then—

"Nani?!" Jun and Kuramochi whirled, snapping their heads' back so fast Chris swore he heard bones popped loudly on their necks.

Chris winced.

...

* * *

**Chapter Five: **_**The 'Disappointment' of Miyuki The Great**_

_End of Chapter…_


	6. Chapter 6

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Six**

* * *

Isashiki Jun stretched his arms over his head and yawned with all his might, eyes tearing up a bit. He scratched his eyes sleepily with his hand and blinked rapidly to clear up the blurs away. _Kuso, he's so tired._

He's not sure about the others, but Jun is still worn-out from last night. He didn't know why they even bothered looking after those two idiots. If Miyuki and Sawamura wouldn't pull their heads out of their asses sooner, Jun will sure as hell put baseball bats through their assess instead.

It's true Miyuki and Sawamura's relationship may have progressed a little, but Jun's still incensed from Sawamura's blunder last night. Honestly, Miyuki would have made his move if it weren't for the idiot kicking the catcher. After all the third years prepared _(schemed) _for the two of them so they can finally have a chance to be alone together and realize their feelings, that Bakamura ruined that chance completely.

Jun was so tempted to choke Sawamura. Too bad the idiot steered clear away from him when the pitcher saw him glaring at his direction earlier this morning. And the dumbass didn't even left the bullpen even once, too busy watching Miyuki secretly.

'_Secretly, my ass. It's so damn obvious everyone can see what you're doing, ahou.' _Jun gritted to himself, annoyed.

"Senpai!"

Jun turned and saw one of the first years from last night's ball-trashing incident running towards him. Remembering the stupid blunder the three freshmen did as well, Jun frowned and he growled back.

"What is it, kura?!"

The freshman stopped in front of him, panting. When he looked up, the first-year cringed lightly and took a step back away from his scowling senpai. "E-Eto, Coach said practice ends now, so he wants you and Yuuki-senpai to oversee the cleaning-up on his stead."

Jun lifted his brow. "Haah? Why? Is Coach going somewhere?"

The first-year nodded. "I think the teachers are having a meeting this morning about the spring festival."

Jun groaned dejectedly_. Ah, shit. _ Now that he mentioned it, Jun remembered his class had a meeting about it as well, but he was so tired that time the discussion merely passed on his ears. Usually, other schools don't celebrate their spring festivals lavishly, but in Seido, they're celebrating it together with the founding anniversary of their school.

_Ah, kuso! They don't need another troublesome activity to rob them off their time for practice!_

He looked back at the first-year. "What about Tetsu? Where is he?"

"I already told Yuuki-senpai and he was already supervising the first years. He said to inform the others as well, especially the catchers."

Jun blinked. Inform the catchers? _That means—_

Suddenly, an elated look took over his face and Jun grinned viciously. "Yosha! I understand. I'll inform the catchers myself. Leave it to me!" He pointed his thumb smugly to himself, eyes glinting nastily.

"Eh? ah, hai!" The first-year swiftly bowed his head and ran away immediately, wary of what he saw in his senpai's expression.

Jun walked towards the bullpen with an evil grin. Mah, mah… He's just going to inform the catchers, right? Right. But no one said he couldn't do a little side trip and satisfy his urge to strangle Sawamura on his way. Jun rubbed his hands together, cackling silently to himself.

...

"You look so happy." Yuuki Tetsuya observed as he walked alongside his vice-captain.

They are on their way to their class after their morning practice. It's unusual for just the two of them to come alone together, but this morning, they couldn't find Ryosuke. Chris and Tanba was still in deep conversation about the pitcher's form and Masuko's probably still on the dining hall, stuffing himself full of his breakfast. Tanba suggested that they went ahead, so the two of them left earlier than the other third-years as well.

Jun smirked back at him. "You think so?"

Ha! Sawamura's face when Jun finally caught him earlier was just priceless. The pitcher's whining and begging to be let off while struggling helplessly from Jun's tight hold, asking frantically of what he did to deserve such treatment (_in which Jun completely ignored)_ was the most perfect way to brighten his day. And the idiot _definitely_ deserved it. Jun snickered.

Tetsu stared at him suspiciously. "Yeah, you look _so_ happy that you're really starting to creep me out. Stop grinning or everyone will start to think you're a pervert."

That wiped out the manic grin off Jun's face. He turned to face the other, glaring. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, kura?!"

"That you look really creepy right now."

"Hahhh?!"

"You shouldn't smile that much, you know. It'll give me nightmares later." Tetsu stated evenly.

With veins popping on his forehead, Jun lifted his foot and aimed it at the back of Tetsu's knee, trying to kick the other off-guard. His captain merely took a step back and dodged the attack calmly.

Surprised from Tetsu's evasion, Jun stumbled on his feet as his target suddenly vanished. He tried in frantic to right himself, but he was completely caught-off guard. Jun could only let out a helpless yelp as he went down onto the ground, hard.

With the corner of his lips lifting up a bit, Tetsu looked down at him, his brows lifting arrogantly. "Trying to copy someone kicking someone else's shin? Ah, but I'm sure it was Miyuki who fell down though, not Sawamura. Guess you're not as successful as him then." He drawled as moved back, allowing Jun to scurry back on his feet.

Jun gritted his teeth furiously. _This bastard_— despite being friends with him for almost three years, everything that comes out of his mouth seriously pisses him off. And that nonchalant attitude triples the blow.

"Teme, just so you wait! I'll wipe that smug look off your face, oraa!"

"That's what you'll get thinking about perverted things."

"I was just thinking about Sawamura! There's nothing perverted about that!"

Tetsu paused and he looked back at Jun with a weird expression, his face darkening a bit. "Hooo? And why is that? I think thinking of someone who already belongs to another is already perverted. I didn't know you have that kind of intention towards Sawamura, Jun."

Taken aback, Jun gaped. "Haaaaah?"

"Am I wrong?"

"What the hell are you talking about, kura?!"

"Then what are _you_ talking about?" Tetsu asked back sternly.

Eyes' twitching, Jun paused on his stride and crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed. "Oi, kura, teme, just what's going on with you? I kicked Bakamura's ass this morning because of his stupidity last night, that's what I'm _talking_ about. What exactly kind of speculation did that stupid brain of yours just came up with?"

Tetsu stopped on his track as well and stared back at Jun, his eyes boring into him intently. Slowly, Tetsu crossed the distance between them and placed his face directly right in front of Jun's, his eyes smothering through him. Tetsu's face was so close Jun could feel the heat started creeping on his cheeks.

Jun fought the urge to lower his eyes, squirming uneasily on his feet. Oi, oi. What's with this bastard? If he stared at him like that any longer, Jun is afraid he wouldn't be able to fight back the feelings he hid secretly within himself to come into surface.

His heart thudded inside his chest, and Jun started to sweat nervously. _He_ must never find out. Tetsu must never find out about these feelings he kept for so long. He couldn't afford to lose his friend.

Feeling the flush starting to engulf his entire body, Jun sighed in relief when Tetsu suddenly turned and continued on his stride, nodding at some of the student greeting him.

Jun walked cautiously after him, hearing the other mumbling to himself as they were nearing the third-years classrooms.

"I wonder how Miyuki would deal with _someone_ who likes him so obviously everyone can see it, but also so oblivious to realize that the feeling is mutual." Tetsu sighed. "And he was _so sharp_ when it comes to the feelings of others."

Jun paused. "Huh?"

"Nothing. I'm also talking about '_Sawamura.'_" Tetsu answered, his voice laced with a bit of sarcasm.

Eyebrow's twitching, Jun was about to open his mouth to snide back a sarcastic comment of his own when he suddenly heard a high-pitch voice calling out to him.

"_Isashiki~kun!"_

Both of them turned their heads towards the direction of that voice. Upon seeing its owner, Jun hid his grimace.

Gah! It's Sakamoto Rika-san, his class representative. Jun doesn't know why, but this girl keeps on following him and is constantly paying him with so much attention. A lot of his classmates informed him that there are rumors that she probably likes him, but Jun couldn't just believe those stories.

His class representative is popular among the boys throughout their school. She stood a little taller than the other girls, her light brown hair fall seamlessly on her back and Sakamoto-san angelic face, her superb body figure and of course, her ample breast drove a lot of boys crazy. Jun couldn't fathom what she sees in him if the rumor actually turns out to be true.

"Isashiki-kun~" The girl stopped in front of him, smiling_ so sweetly_.

Jun sweat dropped. "Ohayo, Iinchou."

"Ne, Isashiki-kun~. Do you have any plans after lunch?"

He blinked. "Er—nothing that I'm aware of."

She beamed, her fingers now twisting on her skirt. "Then can you help me with the materials we need to collect for the festival?"

"Eh? Eto—"

"Jun."

Jun froze upon hearing Tetsu's hard voice filtered into his awareness, suddenly remembering his captain's presence behind him. Jun felt a sudden burst of burning aura strikes his back, spreading around them like steaming volcano. He cringed inwardly, while Sakamoto-san, bless her, didn't see anything unusual when she turned her attention to the man beside him.

"Ah, ohayo, Yuuki-kun~ Gomene, I'm in a way. I just really need to talk to Isashiki-kun… te-he…" She threw the other a _'cute'_ wink.

This is bad. _This is so bad_. He can just feel it. Slowly, Jun turned and looked back at Tetsu, dreading his reaction. Aaaand yes… what he saw nearly made Jun jumped out of his skin.

Tetsu is smiling. And with all the imaginary sparkling flowers surrounding him to boot.

_So scary!_

"Oh-ho? isn't that great, Jun? I didn't know you're so _popular_ with girls." Tetsu grinned, his eyebrows' twitching like crazy.

Jun gulped and waved his hands in denial, shaking his head anxiously. "No! It's not like that!"

Tetsu smiled back at him menacingly, all teeth.

_Scary!_ Jun shuddered. He just hopes to any god who would listen that he would never see that kind of smile ever again on his friend's face. It was extremely S-C-A-R-Y!

Oi, oi, oi, oi. Nani, nani? What's with that terrifying look? What's going on? Is he jealous that some girl probably likes him? Does he want to have a girl fawning over him as well? _Don't tell me—_Sakamoto-san's the type of girl he likes?

_Does he like Sakamoto-san?_

That stray thought send a sharp pain through his heart. For a second, he was overcome with an overwhelming urge to confront Tetsu, jealousy eating out his common sense. But Jun restrained himself. Pursing his lips, Jun berated himself for thinking such a dangerous gaffe that could lead to Tetsu discovering his hidden feelings.

On the other side, Sakamoto-san's face brightened even more, oblivious to the dark aura leaking from the captain in front of her and the baffled aura emitting from the vice-captain at her side.

"Mou, Yuuki-kun! What are you talking about? Do we really look that good together? Really? Mou, arigatou!" She was squirming so much her body's now folding into twist.

'_He didn't say anything about us looking good together!' _ Jun screamed in his mind, irritated. He cringed when Tetsu's smile got even wider, his burning aura expanding even more.

"That's right. I wonder why I didn't see it before."

Sakamoto-san giggled and grabbed Jun's arm, squeezing it closer to her chest_. "Deshou?"_ She grinned back up to Tetsu cutely.

Sakamoto-san paused; her smile frozen on her lips_. A-Aree?_ She blinked. For a moment, she thought she saw Yuuki-kun's eyes flashed dangerously. It was like he was looking at her, or more like he was looking at Jun's arm in her grasp in anger. She blinked rapidly and looked back up at the baseball club captain.

Yuuki-kun threw her a pleasant smile.

She cocked her head. '_Eh—Am I seeing things? Yeah, that's probably it._' Despite the uneasy feeling creeping on her, Sakamoto-san shrugged and put the scene out of her mind.

"Well then, I'll go ahead of you two." Tetsu waved at them and turned, his burning aura and hard stamping through the corridor send the other students fleeing for their lives.

"Oi, Tetsu, wait—!" Jun called back, but it was in vain when Sakamoto-san steered him into the opposite direction.

"Let's go Isashiki-kun! We should tell sensei that he can leave the work to us later." She giggled slyly.

Jun blanched. "Haahh?! You mean, it wasn't really assigned to you?!"

...

Tetsu slid the door open with so much force it made all his classmates jumped on their seats and turned to gape at him, surprised out of their minds. Tetsu strode to his seat stiffly, slammed his bag on top of his table so hard; his neighboring classmates' flinched in fear.

Everyone stared at him, all thinking the same thing. _'What the hell happened?'_

One of his classmates he was close to approached Tetsu cautiously.

"Eh, Yuuki? Did something happen?"

Tetsu shifted his blazing gaze towards him; his burning aura swallowing up their entire classroom.

_Gyaahh!_

"Nothing. Why, is there something wrong?" Tetsu growled out.

'_That's what we would like to know!' _Everyone screamed in silent despair.

All of them shuddered when they think of spending their time with the _Grinch__-Tetsu_ for the whole day. God help them; just send him back to his mountain. It's not even Christmas yet, you know!

...

Unfortunately for the Seido baseball club that afternoon, Tetsu's mood didn't even change one bit. On the contrary, his aura was burning so intensely that most of the third years he was with the whole day was nowhere to be seen. The first years were flat-out terrified and the second years immediately scattered away each time Tetsu comes near them. They almost felt sorry for Kawakami, who became the sacrificial lamb when Tetsu asked him gruffly to pitch for his batting practice. Yeah, _almost _is the right word there.

Jun scowled as he watched their captain hits every pitch Kawakami throws at him so hard, Jun wondered if they will ever retrieve those balls ever again. The bastard keeps hitting home run, sending the balls flying everywhere and making all the players on the field crouching down warily, afraid of the balls coming their way. If they were hit with one of those balls, concussion is the least thing they had to worry about. Kawakami looked ready to run for his life, his pride as a pitcher was already crushed from his captain's home-run spree.

What the hell is going on? Did something happen after this morning that enraged Tetsu even more? It couldn't possibly be still because of what happened. It's not like Jun was bragging about some girl probably liking him. Jun scrunched his brows, confused.

Coach Kataoka watched as the grouchy bear called Yuuki Tetsuya stalked towards the poor pitcher, demanding a harder pitch he could hit. Kawakami stammered that Tanba-san was probably the best option if Tetsu-san wanted a more difficult pitch. But to Kawakami's dismay, when he swept his gaze back into the bullpen, the place was mysteriously empty.

The coach sighed. Another troublesome player in his midst. Just the other day, it was Kuramochi. Now, out of all people, it was Yuuki. Kataoka rubbed the place between his eyes. Forget about going bald, these players are literally turning him into an old man for all the stress wrinkles he can feel popping on his forehead.

"Yuuki!"

Tetsu turned from tormenting poor Kawakami and saw the Coach gesturing at him to come over. Tetsu nodded respectfully and looked back at the pitcher. "We'll continue this after I returned."

Kawakami nearly wept, both from the small reprieve out of Tetsu-san presence and the thought of another suffering to come.

Tetsu approached the coach, his burning aura demining a little. Everyone on the field breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Hai?" Tetsu asked.

Kataoka studied his captain. As always, the young man's face was almost blank, stern, and only the pure determination etched solely on his face. It was one of the things that Kataoka admired of Yuuki's attitude and probably one of the main reasons that he chose him to become the captain. But this time, that determination is just a one heck of a pain in the ass.

"Yuuki, did something happen?"

Tetsu straightened himself, his burning aura suddenly bursting out in every direction. Everyone sighed dejectedly. _'Not again.'_

"Nothing sir. Why, is there something wrong?" Tetsu's asked back, his eyes burning hotly.

Kataoka sweat dropped. This young man—if he gets any hotter than he already is, Kataoka was afraid it'll be an early summer for all of them. The coach rubbed his forehead, sighing heavily. He then crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his captain sternly.

"I don't know what happened but you're being more intense than usual today. Watched your actions, everyone here are depending on you as the captain, understand?"

"Hai, I understand." Tetsu nodded stiffly, body's blazing in determination more than ever.

'_NO! You didn't understand anything at all, did you?!" _Everyone screamed silently.

...

Jun watched as Tetsu talked to their coach from his position outfield. The bastard's probably being reprimanded for his behavior. Well, not that he didn't expect it. If Tetsu's dark demeanor continues, the kouhai's will be too terrified to practice seriously.

"_Sen~pai~"_

Jun nearly squeaked like a girl when someone whispered unexpectedly to his ear. He swiftly turned and saw Sawamura grinning at him. Veins popping on his forehead, Jun grabbed the first-year over his neck, choking him in his hold.

"Oi, kura, what kind of joke is that, hah?!"

"Agh! S-Sumimasen, d-didn't mean to scare you, Spitz-senpai."

"Who are you calling Spitz-senpai, teme?!"

"Uggh! O-Onegai, can't breathe! H-Harucchi! H-Help!" Sawamura extended his arm towards his friend helplessly.

Jun was only a bit surprised when he finally realized that Furuya and the younger Kominato were around as well, since the three first-years are constantly glued to each other.

"Senpai, a little tighter would be good." Furuya interjected calmly.

Sawamura wheezed a bark at the other pitcher. "Furuya, teme! No one asked for your opinion, you idiot! Guh-hah! S-senpai, a bit gently! A bit gently, onegai!"

"E-Eijun-kun." With his hands now extended, Haruichi hesitated how to help his friend.

Furuya casually grabbed Haruichi's hand, steering his pink-haired friend to his side away from harm and kept Haruichi's hand on his grasp. Haruichi blushed lightly, his hand tingling from the unexpected contact.

"Mah, don't mind him. He deserved it anyway." Furuya turned back to Jun who was now drilling his fist onto Sawamura's head. "By the way senpai, what did you do to Yuuki-senpai?"

Jun froze on his _drilling-Sawamura's-head-activity_ and scowled back at Furuya. "Haaah? And why did you think it was my doing?"

Sawamura managed to roll his eyes despite his awkward position. "Duh. He's avoiding you, isn't he?" He drawled.

Jun sputtered, somehow feeling offended that it was Bakamura who pointed out the obvious. And it's the truth. Tetsu's avoiding him. He never once approached him during the afternoon practice, which he knew a lot of their friends noticed. And he was avoiding him the whole day too. They didn't even eat lunch together.

_That stubborn bastard—_

Head's steaming from annoyance; Jun drilled his fist harder onto Sawamura's head. "Oraaa! You brat!"

"Gyaahh! Why me, senpai?! It's not my fault! Harucchi! Someone, help me!" Sawamura wailed loudly.

Both Sawamura and Jun blanched in surprise when the pitcher was suddenly snatched away from his hold. Caught-off guard, Jun blinked confusedly at his now empty hands. He shifted his gaze to his side and saw Miyuki now holding the loud-mouth first-year in his arms.

The catcher smirked back at him. "Jun-san, not in a good mood, are we? Mah~ I wonder why." Miyuki grinned as he snaked his arms around Sawamura's waist, clutching the pitcher closer to his chest and casually placing his chin on his shoulder. Sawamura turned scarlet and started squirming from his hold, although all of them could swear the idiot isn't even trying too hard.

"Miyuki! Teme-!"

Haruichi blushed from the intimate display. Furuya coughed, hiding his surprise into his hand. They weren't aware of what happened between their second-year catcher and their loud pitcher, but both of them noticed that Miyuki suddenly becomes a touchy-feely person this whole day. And Eijun-kun was acting oddly too, always protesting, but obviously loving the attention as well.

What happened with these two? Furuya was now coughing so hard Haruichi was afraid he'll die from suffocation.

Jun about-faced. "Che. Stop with that lovey-dovey display in front me! It's making me sick!"

"We're not!" Sawamura protested.

Miyuki grinned wickedly, locking his arms around his pitcher tighter. "So Jun-san, what did you do to our Captain? Did you reject him?"

Jun choked and sputtered once more. What's with people keep asking him about Tetsu? It's not his fault! And who rejected who? That's not what happened at all! This bastard Miyuki, acting like a mighty love guru when he was totally oblivious of his own feeling just the night before.

"Mind your own—!"

"_Isashiki-kun~!"_

Jun faltered with his words, taken aback, while his four kouhai turned their heads towards the direction of the voice. Looking at the other side of the field, Jun gaped in disbelief. _What the—?_

_Oi, oi…_

...

Everyone in Seido baseball club turned their heads towards the source of the high-pitch voice that reverberated throughout the entire field. All of them saw a girl waving at someone they couldn't point out who. At first, they thought it was one of the managers, calling one of the players over. But when they gave a closer look, their eyes widen after they finally realized who the girl is. \

Everyone gasped in disbelief.

It's Sakamoto Rika-san, one of the most popular girls in their school.

In unison, they all looked down at her famous full breast. Oh yes, it's really her. Some of the players drooled, while the others sighed blissfully when Sakamoto-san waved enthusiastically, the two mounds bouncing heavily to everyone's pleasure.

_Ahhhhh….. We're in heaven….._

But what is she doing at their club? Wait, just now—

They all watched in disbelief as Jun ran across the field and approached the girl warily. He said something to her, probably asking why she's here, and all of them witnessed incredulously when she blushed so red, her face turned remarkably scarlet. Everyone gaped.

"EHHHHHHHHH?!"

"Oi, oi, for real?" One of the third years blurted out.

"Ne, don't tell me—?" Someone asked, amazed.

"Yeah, obviously." Another answered.

"Ehhh?! Why? Why Jun-senpai?!"

"_Kura_, he can hear you!"

"I can't believe it!"

"Seriously?!"

Jun sweat dropped when he heard the frantic uproar happening at his back. He sighed in annoyance and turned his attention back to his guest. "Can I help you, Iinchou?"

She nodded, blushing from all the attention they were getting. "H-here. The list of materials we need to gather for tomorrow."

He grimaced. What the— there's more? And why did she even had to come here just to give him this stupid list?

"Ah, yeah. Okay, I'll take care of them."

Sakamoto-san beamed at him. "Arigatou, Isashiki-kun!"

A lot of players fumed in silent as they watched the scene in front of them. '_Kuso!_ _Damn you, Jun-san/senpai! Just die already!' _

Too busy at the middle of cursing Jun furiously in their minds, no one noticed the frigid sensation spreading at the back. Suddenly, every person in the field felt a frosty chill crept up on their spine and they froze, gulping in apprehension. Like a dance movement performed by everyone at the same time, all of them turned their heads slowly to look at their captain.

_Gyaaaaahh! Noooooooo!_

In contrast to his burning aura, Tetsu is now emitting a bone-chilling aura all over the place, watching the two oblivious people on the far side of the field like a hawk. His face is so blank but so dark, they all shook from where they stood.

All of them finally figured out what _(or who)_ caused their captain's extreme bad mood. Shit, forget about Sakamoto-san's huge breast, they wouldn't be able to enjoy any breast in the future, big or small, if their Captain's dark mood continues. They can feel an enormous storm coming their way. Everyone can only hope helplessly that they were not present when their captain finally exploded.

…

But much to everyone's dismay, Tetsu's mood worsened the next day. They discovered that their vice-captain was helping his class representative for the upcoming spring festival and the two of them spend the whole day together. Jun even asked for an off that morning from their coach and he didn't attend the morning practice.

When the afternoon practice arrived, everyone was so ready to shove Jun inside of a sack and hauled him to their grumpy Captain just so the two of them could talk. They were already at their limits. Anymore of it and they'll turn crazy from the dark aura emitting continuously from their captain.

Jun was stretching his arm at his back when he finally arrived that afternoon. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he was immediately rounded up by a lot of his kouhai who were anxiously waiting for him. Jun took a step back warily.

"Wha—?!"

"Jun-senpai! Do something about it!"

"Huh?"

"It's Tetsu-san! Please, do something about him!"

"Haahh?!"

Someone snickered from behind and Jun turned his head to look. He saw the other third years coming towards him and his cluster of panic-stricken kouhais'.

Ryosuke smiled wickedly. "It's because Okaa-san cheated on Otou-san, right? Now, the children are terrified."

Chris smiled from his side. "That's right."

"Who are you calling Okaa-san, temera?!" Jun flared. He huffed and tried helplessly to extract himself from his kohais' hold. All of them clung stubbornly. "Let go of me, oraaa!"

"Mah, mah. Well, it's true you have to do something about Tetsu." Chris stated.

"Haah?! What, you mean he's still in that mood?" he asked incredulously, his shirt now twisted in awkward position from the struggle.

Chris nodded. "Very much."

Jun grimaced and straightened his clothes, muttering curses under his breath. Then he paused, frowning a little.

"Wait, why me?"

"Well, because you're the cause of his current mood, right?" Ryosuke interjected.

He blinked. "Huh?"

'_So slow!' _Everyone thought, sweat dropping.

Ryosuke rubbed his forehead. "Just— do something."

"Temera, you just want to throw me to the fire, aren't—"

"_Isashiki~kun~!" _

Everyone froze. Staring at each other, they exchanged dumbfounded looks. This voice— Don't tell me—

"Neee! Isashiki-kun~!"

Oh, shit. It's really her.

Once again, they're hearing the unmistakable voice of the girl who caused all their current distress. The _she-devil_ with extremely huge breast.

Sakamoto Rika-san! Once Again!

Everyone snapped their heads towards her, glaring daggers.

Sakamoto-san faltered from calling out once more, feeling uneasy as she saw everyone's reactions.

_E-Eto, she didn't shout that loud, right?_

Jun rolled his eyes and walked towards his class representative with a resign sigh. Not again. He was already so tired from this morning hauling all those heavy tools and materials for their class. And he couldn't even concentrate well with his work. Sakamoto-san keeps following him, offering drinks, towels and everything he didn't need at all. Who needs a tissue when you're carrying a huge table? Jun was so tempted to snap at her and tell her to help instead of idling and gushing after him. This is why he didn't like girls, geez.

"What's wrong Iinchou? I thought I already finished everything this morning?" he asked gruffly.

Sakamoto-san smiled coyly at him and closed the distance between them. Jun blinked, getting more wary as she almost flushed her body against him and slowly lifted her hand to his chest.

"Isahiki~kun~?"

"E-Eh? N-nani?"

"Can I call you _Jun~kun~_?"

"Eh? Ano, I-Iinchou?" Jun stammered.

Everyone who was secretly observing the two of them watched in bated breath when Sakamoto-san suddenly pulled Jun's head down, their vice-captain's eyes widening in surprise.

"I-Iinchou?!"

"_Mah~ _I just thought you deserved a gift for your hard work these past two days, Jun-kun~ and oh, you can call me Rika-chan~ too." Sakamoto-san said in a _very_ seductive voice.

Jun froze in disbelief, while everyone on the field gasped astonishingly when Sakamoto-san stood on the tip of her shoes and kissed him at the corner of his lips.

Everyone screamed hysterically in their mind. _'NOOOOOO!'_

Jun sucked in his breath, too stunned from what happened. _Wha-? _Kiss? She kissed him? She really kissed him?! Why?!

'_Don't tell me—?"_ Jun blanched when he finally realized that all the rumors are true. She really likes him! _No way!_ Jun's head is now spinning from information overload.

Everyone on the field who was watching the scene suddenly felt the burning aura returned and swept around them in full force. All of them yelped and scattered away in every direction when they saw their captain storming towards the unsuspecting pair.

Too occupied with each other, both Jun and Sakamoto-san squeaked in surprise when Jun was unexpectedly snatched away from her embrace. The two of them snapped their heads sideways and found themselves staring at the most terrifying face they've ever seen.

Sakamoto-san yelped and took a few steps back in fear, while Jun gulped loudly.

"T-Tetsu—"

Tetsu glared back at him and Jun nearly swallowed his tongue. For the first time in their three years of being friends, Jun felt a bit afraid of his captain. Tetsu's face was contorted in fury. His lips' pursed, his eyes' hard and he was looking at Jun with so much fierceness that it nearly knocked the breath out of him.

Jun stammered. "H-Hey—"

"We need to talk." Tetsu gritted out in anger and roughly dragged Jun away from Sakamoto-san.

"W-Wait—! Jun-kun?!" She tried calling out, but one of the players wisely clamped a hand over her mouth, shutting her up.

Ryosuke looked up at Chris who was watching their captain and vice-captain rounding up in a corner and finally out of their sight. He smirked. "What a lovely scene. Never thought I'll see one live on this field. Too bad I didn't have my video camera with me."

Chris smiled. "Yeah. Me too."

"Do you think Isashiki-senpai will be alright, aniki? Yuuki-senpai looks so angry." Haruichi asked worriedly.

Sawamura huffed. "Che. They'll probably come back buddy-buddy again, right?"

"More like lovey-dovey." Miyuki snickered and ruffled Sawamura's hair fondly. The first year slapped his hand away, glaring.

Ryosuke rolled his eyes. "Well, I sure hope it's not as much as you two." He drawled.

"We're not being lovey-dovey!" Sawamura screeched while Miyuki cackled merrily.

...

Jun grunted in pain when Tetsu unceremoniously slammed his back onto the hard wall. At the back of his mind, Jun realized Tetsu brought him at the side of the shed where they'd locked Sawamura and Miyuki two nights ago. What the hell? Is this the official place for all these crazy rendezvous?

He grimaced painfully when he felt Tetsu's grip on his wrist tightens. He struggled to free his wrist.

"Teme! That's fucking hurt!" He shouted.

Tetsu merely tighten his grip with more force and used his hold to pull Jun towards him, closing the distance between and their faces were merely inches apart.

Breath clamping up in his chest, Jun sputtered. "T-Teme, what's your problem? You've been acting out so weird since yesterday! "

"Tell me—" Tetsu gritted out. "Are you going out with that girl?"

Jun gaped. "Haahh?! Of course not, you bastard! What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Then why did she kiss you?"

"How should I know?! She did it herself!"

"She wouldn't have done it if she thought you wouldn't like it." Tetsu hissed.

Jun's eyes widened. What the—? Is he for real? "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Jun snarled and he snatched his wrist back forcefully, his eyes tearing up a bit.

This bastard, asking him this kind of stupid question when he didn't even know what he really feels. Like that kiss? Who would like that kiss?! There is only one person in this world he's willing to kiss and accept it with all his heart. And that person is hurting him at this very moment.

Jun pursed his lips, struggling from Tetsu's tight hold even more. His voice cracked a bit when he spoke in so much anger and pain. "Y-You bastard! You have some nerve—"

Jun didn't have the opportunity to finish his words. flushing their bodies closer than ever thought possible, Tetsu suddenly grabbed a fistful of his hair, tugged his head upwards and proceeded to capture his lips in a savage kiss.

Jun gasped, stunned, and suddenly, everything around him stopped moving. Jun's breath, his total consciousness, his entire body, and even his whole heart. Everything in him stopped.

Tetsu is kissing him. Tetsu is kissing him _so deep_!

Tetsu bit his lower lip, hard. Despite himself, Jun gasped breathlessly and Tetsu used the chance to plunge his tongue deep into his mouth. Jun's senses were suddenly flooded with his captain's taste. Tetsu explored his mouth roughly, kissing him deeper. And when his tongue met with his, Jun moaned in surprise, melting into the kiss.

Jun eagerly grabbed Tetsu's head with hands and kissed him back just as hard.

Hot. So hot. Tetsu's lips feels _so _good. Jun both arms clung onto his back, pulling Tetsu closer to him. He grabbed his head forcefully towards him and Jun sank into his captain's embrace with total abandon. He didn't ever want to let go.

Jun moaned in protest when Tetsu suddenly broke the kiss. Forget about needing to breathe, Jun needs those pair of lips back to his at once. He panted breathlessly as Tetsu stared at him, his eyes boring into his with full of unrestrained desire and heat. Seeing that look, Jun's heart clamped into his chest, and his breath comes out in puffs.

"Don't ever let me see someone clinging to you ever again, understand?" Tetsu demanded in a husky voice, uttering each word firmly.

Jun swallowed audibly and nodded his head in daze, still breathless and completely speechless.

Shit. His mind's still blank.

Smirking, Tetsu extracted his body from Jun's embrace. He turned his back from him and started walking briskly towards their practice field.

"Let's go back. They'll be wondering where we went, and oh—"

Tetsu looked back at Jun, titling his lips a little, and eyes softening as they met with his. "I'll be in your care from now on, vice-captain." Tetsu continued on his stride.

The next day, Sakamoto-san and almost every girl who comes near Isashiki Jun were nearly offended when every time they tried to approach the vice-captain, Jun practically ran in opposite direction. When members of baseball club were asked what's going on, all of them grinned under their breaths and answered mysteriously.

"Jun-san is just being lovey-dovey."

...

* * *

**Chapter Six**_**: Lovey-Dovey**_

_End of chapter…_

* * *

A/N: Miyuki and Sawamura's story would just have to wait next chapter. Hope you enjoyed this...


	7. Chapter 7

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Kuramochi tossed a ball and caught it with one hand, doing the same thing repeatedly as he made his way to the baseball field. He was still a little far from them, but he could already hear his teammates' loud voices. From the sound of it, looks like practice's already in full swing. He could even hear Zono's voice booming in anger, probably shouting again at another obstinate first-year. Kuramochi would bet Masuko-san's pudding he stole this morning that it was Sawamura, or maybe Furuya. Those two are just so hopeless sometimes that all of them wonder why they were even in the first-string team.

Rounding up the corner leading into their field, Kuramochi grinned when he saw Zono's face now turning blue face as he shouts at Sawamura, the first-year keeps pouting while he listens to what his senpai keeps yelling at him. Furuya isn't far from them, wearing his usual deadpan expression. Zono shifted his attention at Furuya and shouted something that made the first-year suddenly asleep on his feet, escaping reality (that includes Zono's exploding temper). Seeing his friend being rude, Sawamura joined his senpai in scolding Furuya loudly, and the field suddenly reverberates full of deaf-inducing screaming. It didn't take long and all the attentions steered towards the three idiots.

Kuramochi chuckled. _Oops._

He needed to be quiet or Coach may find him sneaking around. Kuramochi was bored out of his mind, but Kataoka threatened the shortstop out of the field for the entire week. Although he still feels a little too weak, if he stayed at his room another day, he's pretty sure he'll go crazy. And it's not like he's going to practice today. Kuramochi was just interested to do a bit of gossiping with Jun-san about yesterday's incident.

Using the chance of the total chaos unfolding at the field to hide his presence, Kuramochi dashed sneakily towards the batting area where he caught a glimpse of Jun-san practicing. He nearly tripped on his feet when he stumbled upon Ryo-san walking a few meters ahead of him, heading out to his own practice. Kuramochi came to a screeching halt and instantly changed his course. If Ryo-san saw him, forget about being reprimanded by his coach, there will be nothing left of him once Ryo-san gets a hold of his sorry ass.

Kuramochi sighed in relief when he saw Jun practicing alone and a bit far from the other players. He could already feel the slight strain on his body from his brief run earlier; he didn't need another tiring activity like sneaking away from someone else's attention. Looking around the place to confirm no one can see him and sneaking a small peek towards Ryo-san's direction to make sure the second baseman isn't facing his way, Kuramochi jogged towards the unsuspecting vice-captain noiselessly, crept on his side in silent, and whispered teasingly in his ear.

"_Jun~san~"_

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Jun shrieked loudly in fright, his shout so loud that some of the players near them snapped their heads towards him in disbelief. Kyaaa? That's _kyaaa_, right? Did that girly shriek just came out from their vice-captain?

_No way._

To avoid being caught by the others, Kuramochi immediately dove behind the cart beside his senpai and rolled on his back, suppressing the manic giggles escaping from his lips. Kuramochi clamped a hand over his mouth and clutched the other onto his stomach, his laughter threatening to burst out. Oh God, Jun-san's reaction was just priceless.

Gnashing his teeth in fury and embarrassment, Jun glared at the other players in warning, and they all snapped their gazes away nervously, swallowing a little from that intense look. Jun's silent message was clear. If one of them ever mentioned what happened to anyone, there will be hell to pay. It'll be favorable for their future well-being to pretend nothing happened.

Jun then shot his scorching glare towards the shortstop lying near his feet and who are now rasping in muffled laughter.

"Oi, kura, you brat! Are you trying to get killed, huh?! 'Cause I'm telling you now teme, you have ten seconds to explain why you're here before I kill you!" Jun gritted out, his ears still red from what happened. Thank goodness Tetsu isn't around or he would have heard Jun's embarrassing shriek. Just the memory threatened to redden his face even more.

Completely reading the thoughts swirling in Jun's head, Kuramochi fell into another fits of giggles as he watched his senpai's mortified expression. "Oh shit! No more! I'm going to die laughing at this rate!"

Jun kicked the other's foot in annoyance."Stop laughing, kura!"

Kuramochi wheezed in hilarity. In his desperate attempt to hold back his mirth, Kuramochi breathed out to calm himself, covering his mouth with a hand. But his suppressed laughter came noisily out of his nose and unexpectedly, a pig-like sound _(oink)_ suddenly burst out, making the two of them stared at each other blankly.

Silence.

Kuramochi couldn't take it anymore. He shoved his fist into his mouth, his eyes tearing up as he laughed hysterically.

Despite his increasing annoyance, Jun lips' twitched in slight amusement. The third-year stooped beside his laughing kouhai and smacked him on his stomach. "If you don't stop, Ryo will find out you're here, you know."

Kuramochi gasped in his laughter. "I'm dying!"

"Stop it, already! What the hell are you doing here anyway, kura?!"

Kuramochi exhaled loudly in attempt to calm himself. Gaining a small resemblance of composure from his amusement, the shortstop sat up from his position and smirked at his senpai. "Gomen, Jun-san. I have nothing else to do and I'm bored so I thought I could do a little digging about what happened yesterday."

Jun frowned, confused. "Yesterday?"

Nodding his head, Kuramochi squatted beside his senpai, scooted a little too close for anyone's comfort and whispered conspiratorially. "Yeah. You know, the girl Chris-senpai saw walking with Bakayuki."

Jun stiffened, his eyes widening. "Seriously?"

"Seriously, seriously." Kuramochi nodded his head in excitement.

Jun looked around in case someone can hear them talking; acting like their voices weren't low enough not to be heard at all. Scooting more closely at the shortstop, Jun gritted out in a glower. "So who is she? Don't tell me— his girlfriend?!"

Kuramochi shook his head. "Well, I don't know about that, but from what I found out, she transferred here just last week. Her name's Arashi Mika, second year. And shit, that girl's really pretty! I want to hang that bastard just thinking about it! And guess what, Jun-san?" he bounced excitedly. "That girl came from the same middle school as Miyuki!"

Jun's eyes widen even more. "No way— ex-girlfriend?!"

"Right? Mah… that's the only logical reason I can come up with so far."

"Yes, yes. Or they could be relatives." Someone interjected roughly.

"Or simple acquaintances." Another piped in.

Jun and Kuramochi stared at each other. Realizing neither of them spoke, they turned their heads slowly towards the voices in trepidation.

Their eyes widen as their eyes landed at the owners of those voices.

Kuramochi wouldn't admit it, but he nearly let out a feminine shriek like Jun-san did just a while ago when he found Ryo-san looming over him, his smile so evil Kuramochi started sweating bullets.

"_You~chan~,_ What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing. Here. Huh?"

The shortstop gulped. "E-Eto—"

On the other side, Jun was suddenly grabbed upright from his squatted position. He swallowed hard when his eyes met with Tetsu's deathly glare.

"You're getting too close with others again." Tetsu gritted out.

Jun eyes flashed in slight annoyance. "We are not getting close to each other!"

"Hoo? I wonder what kind of _close_ is close to you then? Because if that wasn't being close, I'm inclined to see how you try doing it with me."

Flushing a little from the suggestive statement, Jun rolled his eyes as he snatched his arm back from the other's hold. "Ahou, we were just talking about something. Don't be an idiot."

"Oh? Well, I'm also curious about that." Ryo scoffed back darkly as he snatched the shortstop from the ground and pressed him close possessively at his side. Kuramochi opened and closed his mouth in attempt to say something, but for once, the shortstop couldn't utter any coherent words and was now flushing lightly from the possessive display.

Jun gaped. These two idiots are seriously domineering jerks.

"There's nothing going on! We were just talking about something!"

"So we heard, why don't you try talking about it with us here then?" Tetsu challenged.

"Haah?!"

"What is it then?"

"What's with you, you bastard?!"

"I'm listening."

"Are you ordering me?!"

"No, I'm simply asking a question."

"Haaah?!"

Kuramochi tried to interfere, suddenly feeling a looming disaster from Jun-san rising temper. "Tetsu-san, it's really noth—"

"WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT MIYUKI'S GIRLFRIEND TRANSFERRING HERE IN SEIDO, TEME! THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!" Jun loud boisterous voice boomed around the field like an exploding cannon, resulting in all the players turning their heads towards them in astonishment.

Kuramochi palmed his face, while Jun immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening in horror. _Shit._

Silence.

Then—

"NAAAAAANNNNNNIIIII?!"

...

Sawamura stood rigid beside Furuya, his heart lodged heavy in his throat and his grip around the ball tightened painfully. He didn't notice how nearly everyone fixed their worried gazes towards him, muttering curses under their breaths and contemplating whether they should approach the first year or not. Furuya walked close at his side, his shoulder bumping into his lightly while Haruichi immediately crossed the distance from the second base and placed himself on the other side of his friend, biting his lip worriedly.

But Sawamura was so far gone off with his conflicting thoughts to notice anything's happening around him. His mind's so full of endless questions he couldn't grasp himself. What did he just heard? Girlfriend? Miyuki has a _girlfriend?_ And she transferred here in Seido? What the hell is going on? What—

He suddenly shook his head, smiling uncertainly to himself. No. Miyuki told him she isn't his girlfriend. Not even an ex. That bastard say so himself. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be— but—what if—?

Sawamura bit is lower lip anxiously. But what if Miyuki was lying? The bastard was never the truthful kind of person to begin with. He teases, he lies, he manipulates. He's a calculating bastard and twisted to boot. If it was something he wanted, Miyuki didn't hesitate to do anything nasty, even against himself. Can he really say that the catcher wasn't lying when he confronted him? Was it really the truth?

'_But he was serious at that time_,' his mind insisted. Sawamura could only see that expression in Miyuki's face when he's playing baseball game. And everyone knows how serious Miyuki is when it comes to the sport. But can he really trust that expression? Miyuki can be a good actor when he wants to, when he needs to. It shouldn't come as a surprise.

Sawamura trained his troubled gaze down the ground; his grips around the ball tightening even more. Why is he thinking about these things anyway? Sawamura smiled bitterly. It's not even his business.

It's not like Miyuki is obligated to explain anything to him. It's true they nearly kiss once, and Miyuki was acting weirdly towards him these past few days. His teasing became pleasantly playful. His eyes when he looked at Sawamura were soft, tender. The pitcher even caught glimpses of gentle smiles occasionally thrown his way. But so what? They're nothing but actions and actions can be misleading.

Yes, Miyuki isn't obligated to answer for anything. Sawamura's nothing to him. Sawamura was merely an existence that Miyuki acknowledge in baseball. He's not even the best, it's Furuya.

In the future, their meeting will be just a simple fleeting memory in Miyuki's life. Nothing important, nothing significant, nothing worth remembering at all. And not for long, someone will fill his gap in Miyuki's memory. Probably someone who the catcher will deemed important in his life. That thought sent a sharp pain through Sawamura's heart, making him struggled for breath.

Then why is it so painful? Why the thought of someone receiving the gentle smiles Miyuki gave him so disconcerting? Why does he feel upset when he thought of Miyuki teasing someone else like he does with him? Why? Sawamura bit his lip harder, almost breaking off his skin.

He knew that's totally possible and it's only a matter of time before it happens, but _DAMMIT!_ He's the only one entitled for all those smiles and teasing! He's the only _one_! Miyuki belongs only to _him_!

Sawamura froze, his heart hammering uncontrollably inside his chest. A-Aree? What was that? Sawamura chortled apprehensively to himself. He didn't just think of that. No he didn't. No.

_No way._

Sawamura's smile faltered as he looked back at the bullpen, imagining Miyuki catching for him. Talking to him and ruffling his hair fondly each time the catcher teased him or Sawamura throws a perfect pitch.

_What's going on? _ Something is happening to him. Something important. It was like a sense of obsession at the edge of his awareness. A mocking and unyielding fixation seeking his complete attention. Blinking his eyes rapidly in confusion and on a verge of incoming epiphany, Sawamura trained his gaze towards Furuya at his side. A sense of foreboding crawling steadily on his skin.

"Furuya."

The other turned his head towards him and lifted his brow in silent question, his usual deadpanned expression etched across his face.

Sawamura hesitated. "When you look at me, what do you see?"

Pause.

"An Idiot."

Sawamura's forehead creased as he nodded thoughtfully. "I see. J-Ja, when you look at me t-together with M-Miyuki. W-What do you see?" He stammered.

Furuya suddenly stood ramrod straight, his body going rigid as he fixed him with a hard look, his eyes searching Sawamura's face in cool contemplation. Sawamura clenched his fist while he waited in bated breath, his heart thumping wildly inside his chest. _Please no…_

Another long pause.

Then—

"An idiot in love."

The words had a spontaneous effect. Sawamura clutched his shirt tightly above his chest; gasping in harsh breath as all the oxygen left his whole body completely.

_Holy shit._

_..._

Miyuki can feel a tick throbbing on his forehead. He was so ready to knock someone out to just; one, let off some steam coming off from his rising frustration, and two, ask that same person what the hell is going on. Because, goddammit! _What the hell is going on?!_

When Miyuki and Chris came back from a short meeting with their Coach and Rei-chan, both of them were taken aback at how nearly everyone fixed Miyuki with deathly glares. They kept sending him hateful glances each time he walked past and Jun-san and Kuramochi were acting jittery when he looked at them.

And the worst of it? Sawamura, that idiot is avoiding him. _Avoiding _him!

Miyuki gritted his teeth. They were only gone for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes! And when they got back, everyone were already acting oddly tense. Most of them were looking at him in fury while Kuramochi clamped up when he asked him what's going on. The bastard merely laughed awkwardly and bolted away without warning, his face looking uncomfortable.

When Miyuki tried to move towards Sawamura, the pitcher looked at him in mortified expression, his face full of disbelief. Of what, Miyuki had no idea. He tried touching the pitcher on his back, but he was surprised when Sawamura evaded his hand and made his way towards Chris in a hurry, asking the third-year to catch for him instead. Miyuki can still feel the bitter taste of rejection in his mouth.

Miyuki stab his grilled fish with his chopstick, seething. He'll find out what happened if it's the last thing he'll have to do. Sawamura was starting to warm up to him these past few days. If all of his efforts were suddenly blown off by some idiotic reason he couldn't even fathom, he'll hung anyone standing on his way.

The catcher was mildly surprise when someone suddenly pulled the chair on his right side. Looking up, he lifted his brow when he saw Furuya putting his tray full of food on the table and flopped casually down on his chair. The first-year snapped his chopsticks separately in nonchalant manner and started eating without even speaking any word. Miyuki looked around and couldn't find the other two first years Furuya was always hanging out with.

He sighed in disappointment. Sawamura didn't come for dinner. He always ate together with the first year, always teasing his pitcher notoriously, but always giving him his dessert at the end. Miyuki loves how Sawamura's pleasure lightens up his entire face whenever Miyuki gave him his dessert. The memory made Miyuki frowned in displeasure. _Where the hell is that idiot?_

"What do you think happened this afternoon?" Someone asked out of the blue and Miyuki was startled from his thought. He looked up and found Chris putting his tray down, seating himself on the opposite side of the table comfortably.

Miyuki rubbed his forehead, feeling a massive headache building between his eyes. "I have no idea. One thing is clear, I'm being hated."

Chris frowned down on his tray, thinking. "No one answered me when I asked them as well. Tanba looks like he'll murder you if you even come near him and Jun was acting guilty with his stammering. What could it be—?"

"It's because Miyuki-senpai is a cheating bastard." Furuya drawled, speaking for the first time.

Both of them snapped their heads towards him in surprise.

"W-what—?" Miyuki sputtered.

Furuya looked at him with a hard glint in his eyes. "Ne, Miyuki-senpai. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a hushed silent descended around the dining hall and all the attentions were directed towards their table. Chris looked around, comprehension dawning on him like a switched bulb enlightening his memory. Don't tell me—

His eyes flicked towards the table where Jun and the others were seated and saw Jun and Kuramochi cringed guiltily.

'_I knew it'. _ Chris let out an aggravated sigh.

"What do you mean Furuya?" Miyuki asked the first year darkly.

Furuya eyes didn't falter. "They were saying you have a girlfriend senpai. And both of you came from the same middle school."

Miyuki's eyes grew large in disbelief while Chris rubbed his forehead tiredly and spoke in bitter tone. "I think it was my fault."

The other catcher shifted his attention at him, confused and a bit hurt. "Senpai?"

"Yesterday, the three of us, Kuramochi, Jun and me; we bumped into the girl I saw you were walking with last week." He confessed.

Miyuki's mouth fell open. "You mean, she's already here?!"

Chris blinked a tad confused. "Ah, yeah."

"Shit! I can't believe it!" Miyuki stood roughly from his seat, facing the others who were listening to their conversation in rapt interest. "Listen! If that girl ever came here and asked for me, don't ever point me to her, understand?!"

Everyone stared at him, completely surprised. One of the third-years asked hesitatingly."But… we thought she's you're girlfriend?"

Miyuki's eyes darkened, making them all recoil warily. "I. Have. No. Girlfriend." He growled out, grabbing his unfinished food from the table and making a beeline at the counter to turn in his dishes.

"Ah. Miyuki-senpai." Furuya called out when he saw his senpai readying to leave out of the dining hall.

Miyuki halted on his way to the door, his eyes blazing as he looked back at the first year. "What? I'm in a hurry. I have someone I needed to hunt down at the moment." He stated, his tone sounded a tad sarcastic.

Furuya gave a slight nod. "He's in Zono-senpai's room."

Everyone stared at each with dumbfounded looks on their faces when Miyuki walked out of door in a hurry, throwing out a small thanks to Furuya on his way out. Furuya merely hummed in reply.

_Geez, just what the hell is going on?_ The hall was suddenly filled with buzzing conversation.

"It's not true then?" Someone asked.

"Then, it's just a rumor?"

"Yeah, looks like it... Mou, Jun-san! Don't say such misleading things!"

"That's true!"

"Miyuki just might kill us you know!"

"That's right!"

"You have to think about what might happen to us too!"

"It will be your fault if Miyuki killed us!"

"HAAAAAAH?!" Jun yelled back, slamming his hand on top of the table and gaving his whining teammates a thunderous look. "What was that?! No one asked you to listen to someone else's conversation, temera!"

All of them cowered as they break out in a nervous sweat. No one tried to snide back a comment that Jun's deafening yell of the news earlier didn't count as a normal conversation. They're not stupid. Jun's glower was enough to make them forget all their complaints.

After everyone settled down on their own discussion, Jun and Kuramochi approached Chris uncertainly. The shortstop slumped on top of the table while Jun scratched his head in shame. "Well, it was an accident that it slipped." Jun reasoned.

Kuramochi rolled his eyes. "It didn't slip out. It was shouted out for all to hear Jun-san."

"Shut up!"

Chris sighed lightly. "Well, I think it's a good thing."

Kuramochi grinned. "Yeah. They can finally talk about it."

"Don't be so sure about that. Sawamura is as unpredictable as his pitches. He just might shove Miyuki's explanation right back on his face." Jun huffed frustratingly.

"Ah, don't worry about that senpai. He's in denial at the moment so his defense's weak." Furuya suddenly spoke with his mouth full of rice, his cheeks resembling that of squirrels.

His three senpai stared at his full cheeks, sweat dropping. Yeah, one of the _'unpredictables'_ as well.

"What do you mean, Furuya?" Chris asked while Jun yelled at the first-year to swallow his food before speaking and Kuramochi snickered watching the scene.

Furuya swallowed and shrugged his shoulders, face as deadpanned as ever. "You'll see."

...

Haruichi turned off his lamp and closed his notes. He still got a lot of time to do the other questions after dinner. Feeling his stomach growling in demand for food, Haruichi glanced at the pitcher sprawled on his bed. Eijun-kun's position didn't even change at all for an hour. Haruichi was even sure his friend wasn't aware of his presence in the room this entire time. Gnawing on his lower lip uneasily, Haruichi stood and moved to sit beside his friend.

"Eijun-kun, you're not hungry?"

Sawamura shook his head, staring at the top bunk blankly. Haruichi got even more worried. Ever since his brief conversation with Furuya this afternoon, in which Haruichi heard quite clearly by the way, his friend started acting like a complete zombie. It was like his body was lock in a catatonic state while his mind floated miles way, to where, Haruichi was pretty it involves one certain megane catcher. Did that realization really came out as a huge shock? Haruichi thought it was sort of obvious right from the very beginning.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Haruichi patted Sawamura forehead gently. "Then, I'll bring you something to eat. I'll just tell the others you're not feeling well, ne?"

Sawamura nodded, looking at Haruichi gratefully. When his pink-haired friend walked out of the door, Sawamura heaved a frustrated sigh and placed his left hand gingerly on top of his chest, feeling the loud thumping of his heart against his palm. He closed his eyes tightly and tried concentrating in making his mind void of any conflicting thoughts, easing out his breathing.

Relax. He needs to relax.

'_J-Ja, when you look at me t-together with M-Miyuki. W-What do you see?' _

'_An idiot in love.'_

Sawamura snapped his eyes wide open and jerked his body up from the bed, his heart beating wildly as the memory flowed into his mind. Clutching the sheet over his chest, Sawamura breathed in a lungful of air.

Damn it! No way. _No way!_

He rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. Why? Why did he had to ask that? Why didn't he just shut his mouth? Why did he have to _find_ out?

The pitcher grabbed the sheet tightly into his face, his fingers tangling forcefully on the soft linen. Now, he couldn't face Miyuki openly. He couldn't argue with him, play with him without thinking things like he—he—Sawamura slumped back onto the bed and dug his face deep in Haruichi's pillow, blushing furiously—that he might lo—lo—love the catcher. Oh God. Sawamura can feel all his blood pooling on his entire face, his mind screaming in silent despair.

_NOOOOOOOOOOO!_

"Sawamura, you idiot, open this door!"

Sawamura blinked, straining his ears to listen once more. Is that—? No. That was just an imagination. Ahahaha, this is bad. He knows he's been trying to get the catcher out of his mind this entire time, but spontaneously hearing his voice was just a really big blow on his sanity. It's just an imagination, yes, that's it. It's nothing.

"Sawamura!"

Sawamura shot out of the bed, his eyes wide in disbelief. No. It's just an imagination. It's just an imagination. Ahahahaha…

"Sawamura, teme!"

The pitcher swirled around the room frantically; his mind couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. Oh shit, oh shit, it's not just an imagination. It's a nightmare! That's got to be it. That's got to be it!

Despite Sawamura's hard insistence to himself, when Miyuki's knock thundered around the room once again, Sawamura can feel his entire breath leaving his body. He walked around the room in frenzy; looking for something he had no idea whatsoever.

"Sawamura, teme! Open this door, NOW!"

He gaped at the door. Shit. _No. no. no. no. no. no. no no. no. no. NO. NO!_

"SAWAMURA!"

"He's not here!" The pitcher squeaked in response. Eyes growing wide, he clamped his hand over his mouth in horror when he realized his mistake.

"TEME." Miyuki growled out, knocking at the door so hard Sawamura fear the hinges will come loose any time and the catcher will bulldozed his way inside. The pitcher wouldn't be able to handle it if Miyuki suddenly appear in front of him while he was not yet fully prepared to face the other.

"NOW!"

"What do you want?!" He yelled back.

"Does it matter?! Open this door."

"I have nothing to say to you!"

"Ha! Are you sure I'm here because of you?"

Sawamura opened his mouth to answer back, but closed it immediately when his brain processed Miyuki's words in confusion. Miyuki isn't here for him?

Wait, that's true. Why would he think it's because of him? There's nothing between them. He's the only one acting this way. It was probably just a mere coincidence that he was here. The catcher probably had some business with Zono-senpai. How could he think that the catcher is here for him? Miyuki didn't care for him at all. Not at all.

That thought sent pangs of pain in his heart and Sawamura struggled to gain his breath. Shifting his feet in hesitation, Sawamura walked in front of the door slowly and rested his forehead on the cold surface.

"T-Then, why are you here?" He asked softly, his tone sounded a tad hurt.

Miyuki paused. He knew it might be just his imagination, but Sawamura's voice sounded weird. The thought that his words might have hurt his pitcher cause his heart to twinge slightly on his chest. Blowing out an aggravated sigh, Miyuki answered back in the calmest tone he was capable of at the moment.

"Just open the door Sawamura." He paused. "Please."

It felt like an eternity before Miyuki heard the tell-tale sign of the door opening. He nearly gave in to his urge to just knock the door down and to the hell with it. But he didn't need to resort to such an impulsive act. Miyuki sighed in relief when the door opened slightly and saw the pitcher peeking warily from the other side of the door.

"What is it?" Sawamura asked, looking at anywhere but the catcher. Geez. Miyuki was only wearing his usual garb of casual long-sleeve and loose pants, nothing special. But why does he look so cool? Why can't Sawamura look at him straight on his face? Sawamura turned his head sideway, trying to hide his face that was rapidly turning into an embarrassing shade of red.

'_An idiot in love'_

No. No. No. NO. He can't do this. He can't face Miyuki just yet. Not yet. NOT. YET.

The bastard will immediately realize his feelings the very instant their eyes should meet, he was sure of it. Sawamura couldn't stomach the thought of Miyuki teasing him because of his new found feelings, or worst, avoid him completely like a plague. No. No. No. He couldn't handle that!

Without warning, Sawamura fumbled with the door's knob in frantic and tried to shut the door close in Miyuki's face, completely ignoring the other's yell of surprise. But to his dismay, the door wouldn't budge. Looking down at the floor in trepidation, his eyes widen when he realized Miyuki stuck his foot to prevent the door from shutting close. Sawamura snapped his head up, his apprehension turning into anger. "What do you think you're doing teme?!"

Miyuki smiled at him pleasantly. Then—

Sawamura yelped in surprise when the door was suddenly kicked open and a strong hand grabbed his arm, yanking him forcefully outside of the door.

"Wha—?!"

"We need to talk, but not here." Miyuki spoke in a casual voice. Taking hold of Sawamura's arm in a tight grasp, Miyuki proceeded in dragging the pitcher outside in a cold night and made his way into the path that leads to the baseball field.

"Teme, just where in the hell are you taking me?! I can walk on my own!" The pitcher tried to rip his arm away from the firm grip, but Miyuki's hold didn't waver. The first year noticed that they were on their way to the second field where no one could probably hear them, but just the thought of being alone with Miyuki scared Sawamura to his core and he resisted from the catcher's hold more stubbornly.

"Miyuki! I'm not kidding! Let go of me!"

Sawamura nearly stumbled on his feet when Miyuki released his arm in an abrupt manner. The pitcher tried to balance himself hurriedly, gaining his equilibrium from the sudden lost of Miyuki's weight support. Seething from the callous treatment, Sawamura was about to open his mouth in anger when Miyuki promptly turned his body around to face him.

Sawamura's mouth went dry. The pitcher could see the simmering rage underneath Miyuki's calm countenance. He nearly cringed in fear when the catcher tilted his chin harshly and steered his face close to Miyuki's.

"Do I look like I'm kidding, Sawamura?" Miyuki asked in a calm voice.

Sawamura scoffed, trying hard to ignore the shivers pooling down his spine from the mere contact with Miyuki's fingers.

"What are you talking about?! And why am I even here teme?! It's cold!"

Miyuki's grip on his chin tightens. "Answer my question, you idiot. Do you really think I'm kidding? Do you think I lied to you when I told you I'm not going out with that girl?"

Eyes growing wide, Sawamura suddenly felt confuse from the conversation. "Huh?"

"I told you I'm not going out with her, right? Did you not believe me then?"

"Huh?"

"I'm being serious here, you idiot!"

"Well, what am I supposed to say?!"

Miyuki blinked, his anger temporarily forgotten. "What do you mean?"

Sawamura ripped his chin away from Miyuki hold, rolling his eyes. "Is this what this is all about? You're angry because you thought I believed what they were saying?"

Miyuki slid his fingers on his hair in frustration. "Hah? What the— so you don't?"

The pitcher shifted on his feet uneasily, averting his eyes way from the catcher. "Well, yeah I did. At first."

Miyuki gaped. He didn't expect that answer at all. Looking around him to confirm he wasn't dreaming, Miyuki rubbed his forehead as the sign of his earlier headache came back in full force. Ah, geez. He'll be suffering a migraine at this rate. Miyuki's voice came out a bit tired when he next spoke.

"Then what's going on Bakamura? Why are you avoiding me?"

Sawamura bit his lower lip. Despite the cold air creeping on his body and into his fray nerves, the emotions burning hotly inside his chest, swirling into a tangle of baffling sensation threatened to burst out of his body into hot tiny pieces. How would he answer that question? How can he say that he was suddenly plunged into a deep hell of romantic ideas? How can he say that he suddenly realize he was madly, deeply in love with the very same person asking him what's going on? Sawamura closed his eyes tightly, drowned in the endless questions whirling in his mind.

'_Shit, I really like him.' _The thought made him flushed in embarrassment.

Miyuki watched as different emotions filtered in and out of Sawamura's expression. He could see how the pitcher was struggling with his question. Was it really that hard of a question to make a simple response? He didn't ask anything difficult, did he? What's going on with this brat that he's acting this way?

Frustrated with his own thoughts, Miyuki trained his attention back to the first year and caught a glimpse of a light flush spreading over Sawamura's cheeks. The pitcher was biting his lower lip, his eyes peeking at Miyuki beneath his eyelashes. There something weird with the expression etched on his face, something Miyuki couldn't point out although the name was just on the edge of his mind. Something he knew was pretty important. When Sawamura lifted his head a little and their eyes met, Miyuki's entire body turn rigid, a sudden realization smacking him squarely on his face.

_Don't tell me—!_

With his heart beating loudly on his ears, Miyuki grinned in relief, a huge weight lifting from his chest. This idiot, he was probably straining his brain in desperate attempt to find explanations and understand those feelings swirling inside of him. He's probably extremely confused at this very moment. Geez, really, this idiot—!

But he knows Sawamura is different from him. Unlike Miyuki, It'll be a while before he can finally accept his feeling towards the catcher. But one thing Miyuki felt sure of. Sawamura likes him back.

Miyuki felt a soft smile broke out of his face.

Walking tentatively close in front of Sawamura, Miyuki lifted his hand and slid his fingers gently through Sawamura's soft hairs. He noted how the first-year stiffened from the contact and the tension rose in his shoulder. Slowly, Miyuki pulled the pitcher close to his chest and placed Sawamura's forehead at the crook of his neck. Miyuki sighed with relief when the pitcher didn't protest.

"Geez, stop making me so anxious, will you?" He whispered teasingly.

Sawamura's breath hitched. Close, so close. He can feel the heat radiating from Miyuki's body, seeping into his skin. The warmth spreading throughout his body like a flameless fire. It was just like when they were locked in the shed. Their bodies were so close Sawamura wasn't sure whose heat burning more hotly. Warm. So warm. Sawamura found himself relaxing in Miyuki's hold, basking in the scent of the catcher overwhelming his senses. Trembling slightly, Sawamura lifted his hands and clutched his fingers tightly onto the hem of Miyuki's shirt.

The catcher smiled gently when he felt the pitcher sinking into his embrace and moving in his body closer, finally a tad relaxed. Miyuki placed his check on the side of Sawamura's head and nuzzled into his ear, drawing in his scent deeply. Miyuki sighed in contentment.

Sawamura was now blushing so intensely that he's getting light-headed from so much blood reddening his face. He tried to think of something else besides the catcher holding him, but his entire senses were solely focused into the man holding him tightly. Acting on pure impulse, Sawamura circled his arms around Miyuki's waist and melted his body into the other. Sawamura felt the answering embrace from the catcher, tightening his hold around Sawamura more than ever.

"Cold?" Miyuki whispered.

Blushing, Sawamura nodded and sunk deeper into the embrace. Miyuki grinned.

"Ne, Sawamura."

"Nani?" The pitcher responded in a muffled voice, his face buried deep in Miyuki's neck.

"You're free this Sunday, right?"

Sawamura stiffen. Gathering his remaining courage, he lifted his head a little without breaking from the embrace and looked up cautiously. Sawamura found himself mesmerized from the pleasure etched pleasantly on Miyuki's face, his eyes glinting in their usual playful manner. Despite the uncertainty still lurking in his heart, Sawamura's lips lifted a little in slight amusement.

"Uhm… maybe."

Miyuki raised one of his hands and pinched the other cheek, hard. "You brat, I'm serious."

"Ouch!"

"Well?"

Nursing his cheek painfully, Sawamura focused his attention back to Miyuki. "I'm free."

The catcher grinned playfully. "Then, it's a date."

Sawamura's body instantly turned rigid, his eyes growing wide in disbelief. Did he hear it right? D-D-D-Da-Date? Wha—? D-Date? With M-M-Miyuki?

"W-W-What the hell?" Sawamura stammered.

Leaning his face close to the pitcher, Miyuki smirked as he looked deep into Sawamura's eyes, his own eyes full of mischief."You don't want to?" Miyuki asked huskily.

"T-T-That's-" Suddenly, Sawamura sunk right back into Miyuki's embrace, his entire body combusting red in total embarrassment.

Miyuki's laugh echoed throughout the entire field.

...

"Eto— Eijun-kun?" Haruichi hesitated. They were on their way to practice. Furuya has cleaning duties and it was just the two of them. It had been such a long day for Haruichi. Especially with Eijun-kun acting like McDonalds' with his manic grins.

"Hm?" Sawamura turned to look at his friend, all teeth.

The pink-haired batting genius shivered from the sight. What is this? End of the world? Because Eijun-kun being this happy means a complete disaster for their entire team. Dealing with a hyperactive Sawamura Eijun was already hard enough, but an _EXTREMELY _happy Eijun-kun? Haruichi shuddered. It'll be the demise of Seido High School Baseball Club, that's for sure. He can just imagine the reactions of their senpais once they saw this newly _in love_ Eijun-kun. It'll be a complete chaos.

It looks like his talk with Miyuki-senpai last night was successful. Haruichi couldn't think of another reason his friend was being this giddy. When he came back to his dorm last night laden with Eijun-kun's food, he was mildly surprise to see Miyuki-senpai dragging his friend away. Haruichi didn't even try to follow them, thinking it'll be best for Eijun-kun to finally face his feelings. But this—

Haruichi sweat dropped. This is just too much. Really. Turning his attention back to his friend, Haruichi asked curiously. "Eijun-kun, are you and Miyuki-senpai's going out now?"

Haruichi lifted his brow in surprise when the pitcher suddenly stumbled on his feet and snapped his head towards Haruichi so fast, it made the him look dizzy. "W-What are you talking about, Harucchi? Hahaha… It's not like that, mou… really… Aha…aha…ahahaha…"

"Haaa…" Haruichi voice trailed off, suddenly feeling awkward. What kind of reaction is that? He watched as his friend bit his lower lip uncertainly and scratched his head in hesitation.

Sawamura met his eyes and let out a soft sigh. "Well, not really. I mean, I don't think so."

"Eh? Why?"

"Well… uhm—I guess—well- because no one really confessed?"

Haruichi creased his brows in confusion. "Then why are you so happy?"

The question turned his friend's face into a pinkish color, more pink than Haruichi had ever his entire life besides his and his brother's hair. The pitcher squirmed on his feet as he stammered on his response. "Well, that's—ah—mah—"

"Ano, sumimasen."

Both preoccupied with their conversation, Sawamura and Haruichi jumped in surprise and whirled around immediately to see the person who spoke out of nowhere. They found a girl standing just a few meters away, dipping her head slightly in greeting. Haruichi dipped his chin in response and Sawamura turned his body completely around, scrutinizing the girl in detail.

The girl tilted her head a little and smiled lightly at the both of them.

Sawamura blinked.

'…_.Dare—?'_

...

* * *

**Chapter Seven: **_**An Idiot**_

_End of Chapter..._


	8. Chapter 8 - Part I

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Eight **_**(Part I)**_

* * *

"_Ano, sumimasen."_

_Being too preoccupied with their conversation, Sawamura and Haruichi jumped in surprise and whirled around immediately to see the person who spoke out of nowhere. They found a girl standing just a few meters away, dipping her head slightly in greeting. Haruichi dipped his chin in response and Sawamura turned his body completely around, scrutinizing the girl in details._

_The girl tilted her head a little and smiled lightly at the both of them._

_Sawamura blinked._

'_Dare—? '_

The girl walked casually towards them, a small breeze blowing her hair sideways and covering nearly half of her face. With their brows furrowed in confusion, Sawamura and Haruichi narrowed their eyes into slits, trying to scrutinize their sudden caller carefully. Who is she?

The girl smiled and halted before them, seizing her wayward hairs and tucking them at the side of her nape. When she lifted her gaze to look at them, Haruichi and Sawamura felt their jaws' dropped. They found themselves staring at her with dumfounded look on their faces.

She was simply beautiful. Although she stood a head shorter than Sawamura, her confident stance made her look taller. Her dark wavy hair escaped from her clutch and bounced enticingly just below her shoulders. Her deep brown eyes were adorned with long, thick eyelashes and her delicate lips were tilted in a small smile. She was only wearing Seido's simple school uniform, but it fitted her body so well, Sawamura nearly assumed it was design with her in mind. He couldn't remember any other girl in their school who fitted into those uniforms perfectly. The girl was not as sexy as Sakamoto Rika-san, who was famous for her ample breast, slim waist and enticing hips. If Sawamura would compare her stature to someone else, well, it would be Wakana. Simple and sexy in her own way. But the pitcher thought those features were not the main reasons why she looked so attractive though. Sawamura couldn't accurately point it out, but it was probably the confidence she oozed that made her look so alluring.

"Ano—"

Sawamura was suddenly brought back from his musing when he heard her voice.

"Ano, are the both of you members of baseball club?"

Sawamura blinked. "Eh?"

The girl blinked back. "Ah, am I wrong?"

Haruichi cleared his throat and the girl shifted her gaze at him. "No, we're in baseball club—eto—ano—?"

"Ah! Arashi. Arashi Mika. Second-year. Everyone calls me Mika-chan. Nice to meet you." She grinned and bowed her head.

"Ah, then—Mika-senpai." Haruichi smiled lightly in return. "It's true we're both members of baseball club, Mika-senpai. My name's Kominato Haruichi and he's Sawamura Eijun—" Haruichi nodded towards the pitcher. Mika smiled at Sawamura and the pitcher bowed deeply, flushing a little.

"Eijun-chan and Haru-chan, ne? Okay, I get it."

The two first years blushed, caught-off guard from their names being called casually.

Haruichi coughed shyly and continued with his question. "Eh, can we help you with something senpai?"

"Ah! Gomen, but can you help me? I've been trying to locate your practice field this whole time, but this school's so huge! I got lost and couldn't find it at all! Thank goodness I asked you two." She huffed, dusting her uniform for any imaginary dirt the two first years couldn't even find in slightest.

Haruichi tilted his head, thinking. Does she intend to apply as one of the managers? She doesn't look like the type to join any sports club at all. How should he put it? It simply doesn't suit her. And anyway, isn't it a bit too late for that? It'll be summer in a few weeks time.

"I know someone in baseball club so I thought I should give my greetings. I transferred here just last week." Mika explained, smiling a little when she saw the pink-haired first year shot her with look full of confusion.

Haruichi flushed. He didn't realize he was that obvious. "I-I see. Then you can come with us senpai. We can take you there. Ne, Eijun-kun?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah." Sawamura scratched his head, smiling with hesitation. Haruichi lifted his brow at the uncertainty he heard from his friend's response.

"Really?! Arigatou!" Mika's smile widen as she joined the two first years. "Ahhh, thank goodness I asked you two. My sense of direction is a bit off, you see. I'm really lucky I saw you while I was wandering off." She grinned apologetically.

"Heeeh…" Haruichi dipped his face slightly, trying to cover up his disbelief. _A bit off?_ The baseball field isn't that far from where they stood. How the hell did she gotten lost? In the first place, is it even possible for someone to lose her way in such an obvious pathway? Unbelievable.

While the three of them continued their walk towards the baseball field, Sawamura studied the girl covertly. Why? Why could he feel an uneasy feeling crawling steadily on his heart? He couldn't explain why, but this girl's presence made him a bit uncomfortable. It was like he instinctively knew they shouldn't have met. He could feel a foreboding feeling creeping on his spine whenever he looks at her or every time her gaze met with his. Sawamura's forehead creased in wariness. What is this feeling? There was a twinge in his heart, a nervous pang churning from his stomach into his chest. There just something about what she said earlier that bothered and worried him, but as short as Sawamura's attention span was, he couldn't remember it at all.

When they turned around a corner and they finally saw the baseball field in a distance, Mika halted and gasped in astonishment. Sawamura and Haruichi raised their brows when she suddenly rounded up on them, her eyes shining with eagerness.

"Err… S-Senpai?"

"That's the field?! No way! Sugoi! Ne, how's the practice here in Seido? Is it really hard? I heard it isn't easy to enter the first-string team. Both of you are first years right? So you're not regulars then? What are your positions? Do you get to play often? What are-?" And her questions trailed on and on that the two first years gaped in wonder.

Haruichi blinked. _What the-?_ He didn't even have the chance to hear half of the questions. Everything just went pass on his ears. The pink-haired first-year sweat dropped as he wondered if it's a special ability bestowed only to girls, because even Eijun-kun during his Attention-Deficit Hyperactive-Disorder mode wasn't this relentless with his questions.

When Haruichi looked at his friend, he found Eijun gaping at Mika-senpai incredulously. Haruichi couldn't blame him. It was probably the first time for the both of them to encounter such female species since they entered high school and the baseball field isn't exactly full of girls. Haruichi thanked the heavens their managers were normal. "Eto—we're both in first-string team, senpai."

Mika halted on her incessant chatter as she turned to look at them, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Ara, Seriously?! With that kind of naive look and short height—uh—I mean, even though you still look so inexperienced? That's impressive!"

Sawamura finally snapped back from his unusual state of tranquility. Everyone knew he wouldn't pass up this chance. Placing one of his hand on his hip, the pitcher grinned at her smugly and pointed the other to himself. "That's right senpai! And I'm the future ace who will lead the team to victory! Sawamura Eijun—better remember my name! Kahahahaha!"

Mika stared. "No way. I can't believe it! You look dumb—uh—I mean, you don't look like it at all! Sugoi! You must be really, really good despite your looks!"

"No, no. I'm still not that good at all. Kahahaha! Mah, you could say I'm currently the team's secret weapon and Harucchi's the second best!" Sawamura boasted out loud, tilting his nose haughtily.

Haruichi sweat dropped, observing his two companions talking animatedly. What's with this conversation? Anyway, wasn't she keeps on slipping insults with her words just now? And Eijun-kun didn't even notice. He had to give it to his friend. Eijun-kun can be a formidable conversationalist when it comes to his cluelessness.

The pink-haired first year cringed inwardly when Mika-senpai suddenly squealed.

"The two of you must be good players then! Sugoi! Sugoi! Ne, if you're in first string, then you know _that_ guy right?"

Sawamura blinked, his stride slowing down. "That guy?"

She nodded a she slowed down as well. "Yeah, that arrogant guy. That baka Kazu—"

"Oi, kura, Sawamura! Who are you calling the future ace, teme?! I can hear you all the way from the here, baka!"

Sawamura blanched, startled from the sudden interruption, while his two companions halted and turned their heads towards the direction of the voice. Haruichi secretly sighed in relief.

Kuramochi stomped towards them briskly, heading at Sawamura with full intention to choke the pitcher. '_That idiot and his insolent bragging_.' But Kuramochi halted from his stride when he realized that the two freshmen weren't alone.

Kuramochi blinked. _Eh? A girl?_

Lifting his brows skeptically, Kuramochi studied the girl standing between the two first years. '_Don't tell me Sawamura is flirting with someone? And to a girl no less? That idiot-! If it's true, I'll kill him later.' _He swore as he continued walking closer to them.

Kuramochi stopped short when he finally had the chance to see her fully. Oi, Wait a minute. Now that he gotten nearer, he realized she looks so damn familiar_. Awfully familiar_. Kuramochi narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the girl closely. He had a feeling he met her before. But where-?

Suddenly, his eyes widen and his jaw dropped in astonishment as a memory flashed before his eyes. _Wait. Wait. Wait._ He stood frozen as his mind caught up with what he was seeing.

Wait a damn minute, isn't that-? Isn't she-? It's her! It's really her! Oh shit! Holy shit! Double shit! _(And every kind of shit-calling curse he could come up with!)_ Arashi Mika-san! The girl from the rumors! Miyuki's—

Pause.

Uhh—aree? Wait, what was it again? Oh yeah, that bastard megane didn't even inform them about his real relationship with her! _I'll kill him too._

Oi. Oi. Oi. Then what's going on? Why, of all people, is she with Sawamura? Didn't he realize who she is? And after the catcher told them specifically not to entertain this girl if she dropped by at their club! This idiot-!

With a vein of irritation throbbing on his forehead, Kuramochi sprinted over and slammed his body against the pitcher, hard. Haruichi and Mika-san jumped out of the way, their eyes widening, while Sawamura's yelp of surprise was cut off midway when Kuramochi wrapped his arm around the pitcher's neck, hauling him away from the other two and bringing Sawamura along with him as he crouched down onto the ground. He gritted his teeth.

"Are you really that big of an idiot?! Huh, Sawamura?! Huh?! I can't believe you! Shall I call you the master of all idiots from now on, huh?! Huh?! Master idiot! Baka! Aho!" Kuramochi hissed as he shook the first year in frustration.

"Haaah?! W-what are you t-talking about, Kuramochi-senpai! A-and, onegai, c-can't breathe!" Sawamura struggled from his senpai's tight hold.

"Why did you bring her here?!"

"E-Eh? But s-she's looking for someone! Ugh!" Sawamura choked. Tapping Kuramochi's arm around his neck in panic, Sawamura let out a whining gasp. "S-Senpai!"

Kuramochi ignored the first year's breathless wailing and tightened his grip. "Baka! Didn't Miyuki tell us not to bring her here? And you did it out of all people! Didn't the two of just had a fight over her? Huh?!"

Sawamura paused, stilling from his helpless struggle. Fight? Over her? Wha-? Momentarily ignoring the chokehold Kuramochi had over him, Sawamura turned to look at his senpai in total confusion.

"Huh? I-I don't understand Kuramochi-senpai."

Kuramochi stopped short from strangling his kouhai. _Don't understand-? _ Meeting Sawamura's gaze with a confused gape of his own, Kuramochi creased his brows thoughtfully. Huh?

Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Now that he think about it, Sawamura and even Ryo-san's little brother wasn't there last night when Miyuki threatened everyone about her. And Sawamura had no idea about her real name or what she really looks like, even the others at the club were totally clueless in regards to her looks. Actually, it was just him, Chris-senpai and Jun-san who really knew. Shit, this is bad. So bad. Like so so so bad. He has to do something.

Kuramochi suddenly stood from his squatted position, taking his arm away from its tight hold of Sawamura's neck and throwing the pitcher caught-off guard from the sudden release. Sawamura found himself falling face down onto the dirt, struggling to regain his breath.

The shortstop stepped over Sawamura's winded figure and smiled towards the other two who were watching him and Sawamura with wary expressions. He walked towards the girl with a strained smile on his face and nearly bit his tongue off when he got a good look of her face. Gah, this girl's very attractive.

Mika blinked at him warily. "Uhh… What is it?"

The shortstop snapped back from his thoughts. "Eh? Ah, Kyaha! Gomen, gomen. Ehh, I'm in baseball club too. Kuramochi Youichi. Second year. I'm wondering why you're with my kouhai?"

Mika's face lightened up considerably. "Ara, second year? Then we're the same! My name's Arashi Mika. Nice to meet you!"

"Ahaha, same here." Kuramochi's strained smile came back. From the corner of his eye, he saw the pitcher walked beside Haruichi, grumbling furiously about the mistreatment he received. Kuramochi felt a bead a sweat rolling down on his forehead. This is bad.

"Ne, if you're a second year in baseball club, then you know him, right?" Mika asked.

"Him?"

Mika nodded. "Kazuya."

"Uhh—who?" This is really, really bad. He was already breaking out buckets of sweats. Kuramochi felt the sudden change of atmosphere around the two freshmen. He knew they heard her question quite clearly, but he resisted the urge to look at Sawamura. Kuramochi focused his attention to Mika instead.

Mika tilted her head, confused. "Kazuya. Miyuki Kazuya? You know him right? I thought that guy is famous in his club. Eijun-chan and Haru-chan knows him too right?" She looked at the two in question.

"Uhh—I—" Haruichi looked up at his friend, worried. Eijun-kun face was starting to lose its color.

"Ara, you don't know him? What about Eijun-chan?" She turned her attention towards the pitcher. Sawamura merely stared back at her blankly, his mouth agape. "Eh? No way. No one knew him?"

"Ah, yeah, we know him." Kuramochi cut in. He shot a worried glance towards the pitcher, wincing under his breath when he saw Sawamura's face morphing into a mortified expression.

'_Baka, you're so slow.' _That bastard Miyuki, he should have told Sawamura about her, even just her name.

On the other side, Sawamura's heart nearly burst out of his chest as he felt his entire body stiffening in shock, his mind going from entirely blank to chaotic in circles. He was getting dizzy from the overload of information suddenly dawning on him. Clenching his hand tightly, his grip on his bag tightened as he felt his breath leaving his lungs in dread. Kazuya. She said _Kazuya_, right?

**'_We were just talking about Miyuki's girlfriend transferring here in Seido, teme!"_**

All of a sudden, Jun's yell yesterday echoed over his ears in a staggering clarity, making him gasped in disbelief, and his heart lodging itself painfully in his throat.

This is it. This is why he was bothered earlier. Why he felt a twinge of nervousness from her presence. When he heard that she transferred here just last week, his mind tried to remind him of what he heard from Jun yesterday. That's the reason. Sawamura stared at Mika-senpai, his eyes widening in comprehension.

It's her. This is the girl Chris-senpai saw walking with Miyuki last week. She was the girl Miyuki insisted wasn't his girlfriend, the one he felt jealous of when he heard about her from the very beginning. She was the girl Miyuki knew even before Sawamura entered his life. The _very same girl_ who became the main reason why everything started in the first place.

_Oh God._

It's really her, standing before him in flesh. Then what's wrong with her? Sawamura couldn't see the reason why Miyuki vehemently denied that she was his girlfriend. Sawamura couldn't even imagine any guy rejecting her. She was just beyond beautiful. It isn't just possible. Could it be Miyuki-? What if he was really lying -?

Sawamura shook his head fervently. No. No. No. They've already talk about this. Stop thinking. Shit, he needed to stop thinking.

Seeing the doubts slowly creeping in Sawamura's expression, Kuramochi knew he had to get the pitcher away from her presence. Like, _Right. Now._ Looking at Haruichi in alarm, his eyes met with the other and the shortstop knew the first-year caught on what's going as well. His eyes said the very same thing. They needed to separate these two. Immediately.

Completely unperturbed by the sudden rise of tension between her three companions, Mika rounded up at Kuramochi in excitement. "Eh?! You know Kazuya?! Miyuki Kazuya? Can you bring me to him? I really need to talk to him, it's important!" She bounced on her feet eagerly.

Kuramochi shot her an uncomfortable smile. Narrowing his eyes at Haruichi covertly in warning to flee, the first year grabbed Sawamura's arm and yanked the other towards the baseball field in haste. With his mind still in a state of conflicting thoughts and his entire body sagging of its usual energy, Sawamura was easily hauled away like a sack of dehydrated potatoes. The pitcher didn't even protest from the forceful treatment, he was too deflated from the shocking revelation. Kuramochi could have even sworn Sawamura's spirit was leaking out of his gaping mouth.

Mika tilted her head as she noticed the two first years running away. "Eh? Where are they going? Haru-chan? Eijun-chan!" She called out in a shrilled tone, her voice ringing around them like a fork being dragged across a glass plate.

Kuramochi winced, his ears ringing from the sudden abuse. Wanting to get away from her as soon as possible, Kuramochi interrupted her screaming. "Eh… gomen, Mika-san. Miyuki's not here at the moment. I heard he had something to do, so he asked the coach for a day off today." He lied.

Her eyes widen as she whirled to face him again, Sawamura and Haruichi's escape were completely thrown out of her mind. "Ehh?! He's not here?"

Kuramochi nodded his head eagerly.

"Why?!"

He shrugged.

"You don't know?"

Kuramochi shook his head.

"You don't know how to contact him either?"

"No idea."

"What about when he'll return? Can you guess?"

"Impossible." Kuramochi shook his head convincingly. Well, even if he was lying to her from the start, this time, he was confident of his answer. It's really impossible to predict what Miyuki's thinking. He really had no idea where that bastard wanders off during his free day. And on that note, Kuramochi had no intention whatsoever to even start trying.

"No way." Mika's shoulders sagged in disappointment.

"Sorry I'm not much of a help."

Silence.

Just when he thought she was about to turned and walked away in defeat, Mika suddenly stood straight, a dark and ominous aura unexpectedly bursting around her like wild fire. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she looked up at him, her gaze deeply boring into his. Kuramochi felt his brow twitched uneasily.

"M-Mika-san?"

Kuramochi broke out in nervous sweats as she stepped closer and rounded up on him intimately, her face a mere inch away from him. His eyes turned practically cross from her sudden nearness. He moved his hands between them, trying to put out some breathing space. _Wha-?_

"You're not lying to me, are you?" She whispered.

He gulped, the sudden pressure coming from her making him shivered inwardly. Kuramochi shook his head fervently.

"Really?"

The shortstop nodded. "Y-Yeah."

Mika stared at him with a hard glint on her eyes. Moving her face a little more close, she was about to open her mouth to say something when they suddenly heard a voice called out from afar.

"Kuramochi-chan! Coach's looking for you!" Masuko's voice cut through the tension between them.

Kuramochi sighed in relief while the knot coiling inside his stomach eased from the unexpected interruption.

'_Saved.'_

Looking back at Mika, Kuramochi lifted his brow in confusion as the girl stiffened before him. Jumping like there was a spring attached to her shoes, Mika leaped from their close proximity in haste and swallowed audibly as she turned to see Masuko-san coming towards them.

Fixing her attention back at the shortstop, her smile wobbled as she stammered on her words. "W-Well, if Kazuya isn't here, I guess I shouldn't stay around any longer. I'll be going then! Sorry for the interruption! And please forget about what happened, onegaishimasu! Well then-! If you'll excuse me—! " She quickly turned and scurried away in opposite direction, dust raging behind her like a storm.

Kuramochi blinked, taken aback from her sudden disappearance. _Eh? Huuuuhhh?!_

'_What was that? Eh, what was that?!' _ For a moment he was pretty sure he would be gobbled up in one bite. Literally. She was looking at him so viciously that Kuramochi was breaking out in cold sweats. She was totally different in front of Sawamura and Haruichi. What the-?!

Somehow, the shortstop had a feeling he was dealing with a yakuza just now. But—_Kyahaha_! That couldn't be it, right?

Kuramochi sweat dropped. _Right._

Masuko halted before him, panting. "Ugah! What's wrong Kuramochi-chan? You don't look so well."

Scratching his head thoughtfully, Kuramochi shrugged. "It's nothing."

"Who was that girl by the way? Your friend?"

"Err, no. Miyuki's."

Masuko blinked. "Miyuki? Really?"

Despite his perplexity from what happened earlier, Kuramochi smirked. Anyone would probably have the same reaction if they heard that bastard having a friend. Miyuki bonding with someone outside of baseball field was just beyond implausible. That bastard even fell in love with Sawamura, a baseball player just like him, Geez. He looked at Masuko-san.

"That was her, Masuko-san, the girl from the rumors."

Pause.

"Huh?"

Kuramochi snickered. "You know, Miyuki's supposed G-I-R-L-F-R-I-E-N-D."

"….."

"..…"

Masuko's eyes widen, shocked. "Ugaaaahhhh?!"

….

Miyuki tightened the muscle on his calf, bracing himself for the impact of the ball he knew will be coming alarmingly fast. Moving the glove a little higher for a fastball, Miyuki hid his wince as the ball landed on his grasp forcefully. Furuya's really in a good mood today. His pitch has more power than usual and that was saying something since it was the only way the pitcher knew how to throw his pitches. Even Miyuki, who could easily catch his fastballs in any day, was having a bit of a hard time at the present. And Furuya looked more focused today, not to mention his aura was burning relentlessly since they started practicing. Did something good happen with this guy?

"Yosh, the power is good, but you have to throw it a little bit lower. Try throwing it with you arm lower to your chest; you may gain more control through that angle without the power decreasing too much. And stop spreading your aura, baka! You're going to burn us at this rate!" Miyuki sweat dropped as he turned to look at Kawakami, watching the poor guy inching away from Furuya. The second-year pitcher was still suffering from his trauma with Tetsu-san's aura bursting out constantly during his recent intense batting training. Thank goodness the issue had been solved between their Captain and Vice-Captain satisfactorily, or they might have ended up just like him.

Miyuki could only shake his head at the thought. Furuya and Tetsu-san shared a lot of similarities when it comes to expressing their feelings. Awkward, yes, but at the same time completely and obviously straightforward. They may looked reserved and standoffish most of the time, but they tended to show more emotion than anyone else when they felt strongly over certain things. They simply didn't show what they feel on their faces. They expressed it through their actions. And it was unexpectedly easy to spot these oddities when you know where to look. Miyuki knew most of their teammates were aware of it too. That's why Tetsu-san had been able to build a strong friendship with Jun-san, and Furuya was starting steadily with Sawamura and Haruichi.

The catcher smirked fondly. In a way, he was both alike and opposite of them. He's certainly a straightforward kind of guy, and he was not afraid to express it to anyone even to his senpai's. But at the same time, Miyuki knew exactly how to be reserved, and he was an expert in doing so. In this field, Miyuki knew no one is more standoffish than him. No one is more secretive than him. And no one can easily spot weaknesses more than him, because honestly, they were his own weaknesses as well. So every time he watched Furuya struggling to fit in with his teammates, Miyuki knew the feeling very well, because he was also struggling with the same thing.

Miyuki looked over the baseball field. Seido players were different from any teammates he was with during senior and junior league. They knew what he was capable of, and they respect his strength as a catcher. Everyone trusted his judgment, and although there were lots of time Miyuki just bluff his way through his plays, no one complained the way he handle things on his end. The team was important to him, as he knew he was as important to them as well. He didn't regret, not even in slightest that he decided to enter Seido over the other schools. Here is where Miyuki belongs, and here, Miyuki smirked fondly, is where he met Sawamura Eijun.

A total straightforward pitcher without any reservations inside of baseball game, Sawamura is the complete opposite of Miyuki who is a sly catcher full of reservations in regards to his feelings among certain things. Sawamura is his complete opposite, yes, and so different from him that Miyuki felt compelled to possess him entirely.

Chuckling under his breath, his heart warmed considerably when he remembered Sawamura's expression last night. Oh, how he wished he brought his phone last night, he would have been able to take a picture of his pitcher being so cute. He wondered if he will be given another chance to take it after all? Miyuki smirked evilly. Well, surely, he'll just have to suggest another embarrassing activity to gain that level of cuteness. He only suggested a date last night. What level of cuteness will he see if he kissed him? Miyuki's smirk widens. The extreme kind of cuteness, that's for sure. And this time, he will make it certain it wouldn't be forgotten. Because honestly, being cute is not a part of Sawamura Eijun's obvious characteristic. Not at all. On that note, he also has to make sure Sawamura will only show that kind of face in front of him and no one else.

He snickered. He couldn't wait to see his pitcher today. With all the arrangements Coach Kataoka were asking him and Chris-senpai to prepare for the summer tournament, he was constantly called out to meetings for the improvements of the pitchers' practice menu. Not to mention the preparations for the incoming Spring Festival as well and Miyuki hadn't been able to spend any quality time with Sawamura as much as he wanted to. He was out in a meeting this whole morning too. Last night, the pitcher refused vehemently when Miyuki suggested walking him to his door. Sawamura was having a hard time looking at him without blushing furiously so Miyuki conceded at the end. But today, he was hoping Sawamura's awkwardness finally ebbed a little. Well, Miyuki surely hoped so, because he didn't want the others seeing Sawamura being so cute. That was for his eyes only.

"—yuki-senpai."

The catcher adjusted his glasses, thinking of several effective ways to make Sawamura flushed more adorably.

"Miyuki-senpai!"

Startled, Miyuki looked up in surprise. He found Furuya looking down at him with his brows furrowed in confusion.

"What's wrong Furuya?"

"That's what I'm asking since ten minutes ago. You're spacing out, senpai."

"That's—" Miyuki faked a cough, trying to hide his discomfort for being caught. "Ah, Gomen. Let's continue then. And I'm not spacing out; I just got caught thinking about something." He lied.

Furuya lifted his brow. "Yeah, I can see that Miyuki-senpai. There was this very perverted look on your face when I was calling out to you." He deadpanned.

Miyuki nearly choked on his tongue, and this time, his coughs were definitely genuine as he tried recovering from his surprise. What the—Furuya was usually an airhead, but he can be sharp at times too, or was Miyuki that obvious? He hoped not or it'll be a big blow to his character. "I'm not thinking of anything perverted, aho. Let's just continue." He wheezed out.

"Hmm…"

He rolled his eyes. "Just go back to your position, Furuya." Miyuki grabbed his helmet and was about to put it back on when he realized the pitcher didn't even move from where he stood. He lifted his brow.

"Hey, did you hear me?"

Furuya didn't respond.

'_I'm being ignored, huh.'_

Sighing in exasperation, Miyuki looked up and found the pitcher looking straight ahead through the net behind him. With a vein of irritation ticking on his forehead, Miyuki turned to see what caught his kouhai's undivided attention. He was about ready to reprimand him for spacing out himself when Miyuki found Sawamura and Haruichi standing just a few meters away, both of them looks like they've just arrived for practice. Che, he'll forgive Furuya just this once.

Miyuki was just about to call out to them when Furuya suddenly turned and walked briskly out of bullpen. Miyuki blinked and he gaped after him, confused. Nani?

When he looked back at the two first years, Miyuki stopped short, finally realizing what made Furuya rushed outside. Something's wrong. He couldn't see their faces quite clearly, but Haruichi look winded with his hands on his knees and Sawamura simply stood beside him with a shocked look on his face. Miyuki creased his brows. The two first years look like they saw something terrible and they've ran away from it.

Wait, when he asked where Sawamura was earlier with Furuya, didn't he say that Sawamura and Haruichi left the class way before him? Miyuki got caught with Furuya's enthusiasm to pitch that he shrugged it off easily, but where did this two came from and why were they looked like they've encountered something awful? Worried, Miyuki followed Furuya out of bullpen.

"Something's wrong? Did something happen?" Miyauchi, who was standing near the entrance and nearly bumped with Furuya while the first year rushed out earlier, asked worriedly when he saw Miyuki's hurried pace as well.

Miyuki shook his head, walking faster. "It's nothing. We'll be back."

Miyauchi huffed. "Mah, I really don't understand what's going on, but Coach called out for you."

"Hai, I understand."

…..

Sawamura watched Haruichi ruefully as his friend bend over to his knees, trying to catch his breath. It might have been a short run, but his friend isn't exactly strong that he wouldn't be tired dragging Sawamura's dumb ass the entire way. Sawamura cursed inwardly, chastising himself. He did it again. He made them worried about him again. All because he couldn't control his own feelings.

Sawamura gritted his teeth as he remembered what happened. He couldn't believe it. He thought it'll be a while before he had a chance to meet her. So he tried not to think what he'll do, to himself and to Miyuki if it indeed happened, but now, Sawamura regretted that he didn't prepare himself much earlier. He can still feel the bitter taste of doubts inside his mouth. Sawamura can still feel the mayhem the meeting caused inside his heart.

But Sawamura couldn't help it. When he finally realized it was Mika-senpai who was seen with Miyuki, he felt scared, threatened and jealous all at the same time. He knew he wasn't that good in covering up his feelings, so Harucchi and Kuramochi-senpai probably saw the doubts on his face, but honestly, she was more than he imagined. In Sawamura's eyes, he couldn't see any fault that Miyuki wouldn't like her at all. He was no good compared to her. No good at all. He was just—

_Wait._

Sawamura paused and closed his eyes in annoyance. Running his palm over his face, the pitcher exhaled out loud. Shit, again, he was getting overwhelmed with his feelings. Getting overworked with something so worthless! So-so- no, wait, it wasn't exactly worthless per se, but still-! Ahhh, Geez!

Inhaling deeply, Sawamura suddenly shouted out loud.

"AHHHHHHH! KUUUSSSOOO!"

Haruichi jumped in surprise. _What the-?_ Looking at his friend with his eyes wide, he stammered worriedly.

"E-Eijun-kun?"

"BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! Sawamura Eijun, you idiot! Miyuki, you dumbass! GRRRRRR!"

Sawamura stomped his foot onto the ground like a petulant child, huffing in frustration. He grabbed his head tightly in both sides, shaking it back and forth so fast that it made Haruichi dizzy just from looking.

"KUUUUSSSSOOOO!"

"E-Eijun-kun!? W-Wait! You'll break your neck!"

The pitcher grabbed his bag and threw it onto the ground, hard. He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed in satisfaction. "YOSHA! That felt good!"

Haruichi could only gape at his friend. _'Ehhhhh?!'_

What's going on? Did Eijun finally lose it? Well, it was really something worth worrying about, but—

Sawamura send his friend a reassuring smile, trying to ease his worries. "Don't worry, Harucchi and gomen ne."

Haruichi blinked. "Eh? For what?"

"For worrying you and Kuramochi-senpai. It's okay. I'll work this out myself." He smirked full of conviction. Ruffling his hair roughly to push any negative thoughts still lingering on his mind, Sawamura exhaled out a huge breath. "Yosh, time to go... practice, practice…" Crouching down, Sawamura was about to grab his bag from where he threw it when he heard a voice spoke unexpectedly.

"Sawamura?"

The pitcher froze, his eyes widening. Eh? Aree? That voice—don't tell me—

Aware of a sudden uneasiness creeping in, Sawamura slowly turned his head towards the direction of the voice. He gulped audibly when his gaze landed at Miyuki.

_Shit._

_He heard me._

…

* * *

**Chapter Eight _(Part I): The Fated Meeting_**

_End of Chapter…_

* * *

A/N: *sighs* Finally! This month was so busy it nearly killed me. First of all, thank you so, so much for all the comments, reviews, and favorites. I love them and I appreciates them SOOOO much. *bows*. Anyway, since this chapter is very important, I got caught up writing the whole thing and it ended too long that it blew my mind away; hence I decided to split it into three parts. Sorry, I'm not really comfortable posting chapters that exceeded 10,000 words since I want to make every scene as interesting and memorable as possible. That's why I drew up different interesting plot in each chapter, but I didn't expect this chapter to be this long. _(Fuuuu_….) I still hoped you like this part.

PS: (Whoa, there's a PS in my A/N, _Pfft._) I'll post the next two parts immediately right after they were edited.


	9. Chapter 8 - Part II

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Eight **_**(Part II)**_

* * *

"_Sawamura?"_

_The pitcher froze, his eyes widening. Eh? Aree? That voice—don't tell me— _

_Aware of the sudden uneasiness creeping in, Sawamura slowly turned his head towards the direction of the voice. He gulped audibly when his gaze landed at Miyuki._

_Shit._

_He heard me._

"M-Mi—"

Miyuki, who was standing just a few meters away with Furuya at his side, was looking at Sawamura with a mixture of confusion, perplexity and astonishment, his mouth slightly agape with disbelief. Sawamura let out a startled gasp and Miyuki blinked; his face still full of bewilderment.

Miyuki opened his mouth to say something, but closed them hesitatingly when he couldn't think of what to say and he frowned. What the- What was that just now-? What's going on? That wasn't just his imagination right? Not with that kind of loud and agitated yell Sawamura had let out. Not with that kind of expression Sawamura wore on his face. _And he's cursing me, __**ME**__, of all people._ Not that he hadn't done it before _(he's doing it almost every day, honestly_) but still—No, that wasn't just his imagination at all.

Miyuki suddenly felt uneasy. And a bit hurt.

With an intention to question the pitcher of his behavior and at the same time, needing to shorten the distance between them and to ease the unsettled feeling that starting to churn on his chest, Miyuki took a tentative step towards him. He froze when he saw the other flinched. Scrunching his brows, Miyuki spoke softly, uncertainly.

"What's wrong?"

"Mi-Mi—" Sawamura could only gape back like a fish, opening and closing his mouth in his baffled attempt to respond.

Miyuki frowned worriedly. "Sawamura?"

Sawamura let out a strangled sound as his reply, his voice coming out like he was choking on his own tongue. Miyuki was starting to stare at him thinking that he had finally lost his mind and at the back of his mind; Sawamura thought he probably did. Because he was hoping Miyuki was merely a product of his anxious hallucinations at the moment because honestly, Sawamura felt like his mind was spinning in an extreme level of pandemonium.

'_This is bad. Soooo bad.'_Sawamura staggered as he stood from his crouched position.

When Sawamura slowly straightened up and turned to face him fully, Miyuki frown deepened. Sawamura's face was slowly morphing in a complete terror, a ridiculous gape stamped stupidly on his face as he stared back at Miyuki. He was gawking back at him in complete disbelief it made Miyuki want to run to the nearest mirror and check his face just to make sure it wasn't damaged in any way. Miyuki was confident of his appearance, but with the way Sawamura was looking at him at the moment; you'll think a dozen elephants had found it in their good conscience to traipse joyfully all over his face.

Miyuki hesitated. "Sawamura?"

He didn't respond immediately and merely stared back at him. Miyuki was starting to get concerned. "Hey."

Sawamura whispered. "Mi-Mi—"

"Teme!"

"—Miyuki…"

Miyuki secretly sighed in relief. "What's wrong with you? What happened?"

"I-I—"

"Huh?"

Sawamura blanched, snapping right back out of his stunned state _(In which it turned into an anxious state, anyway, so it's no different at all.)_ Biting his lower lip worriedly, Sawamura's mind spun in chaotic circles.

'_Crap, he didn't hear me just now right? No, no, no, he didn't. Ahhhhhh! He did! I know he did! Wait, I didn't say anything suspicious right? No, no, I didn't. Gahhh! I did! I know I did! Gyaaah! He heard me! He really heard me! Baka! Baka! BAKAAAAABAKAAAA!'_

Sawamura tighten his grip on his bag, his heart thumping so loud he was afraid it'll burst out of his chest. He broke out in cold sweats and he started to tremble slightly. Sawamura felt like he was in a middle of a baseball game, cornered with bases loaded and no outs. His breathing was starting to come out in nervous puffs.

'_Not yet. I'm not ready yet! Kusooo! What's with this situation?! There should be a limit on what I could take in thirty minutes! Miyuki, you bastard! You always come in late! Why the hell are you here this early?! Give me time to think, teme! Time! I need time!'_

Miyuki stared at the pitcher with his eyes full of confusion. He can see Sawamura's face starting to lose its color and his eyes widening in nervousness. If he didn't know any better, the catcher was sure Sawamura was on the verge of hyperventilating.

For some unknown reason, Miyuki started to feel nervous himself. He couldn't shake the unease slowly winding on him when he saw how breathless the two first years were earlier. Something happened with these two. Something awful it made his usual energetic pitcher to become so agitated.

Worried, Miyuki decided to grill it out of him forcefully. He took a decisive step towards him.

But then—

Sawamura, his eyes widening from the sudden movement, moved a step back.

Miyuki lifted his brow, frowning. He took another tentative step forward.

The pitcher hurriedly stepped back.

Pause.

_Huh?_

Hesitating, Miyuki took another step forward.

Sawamura took a step back.

_What the-?_

Another stepped forward.

Another stepped back.

"…..."

"...…"

Forward.

Back.

Forward.

Back.

Forward.

Back.

With his brows twitching like crazy, Miyuki felt a vein dangerously close from bursting ticking heavily on his forehead. _This idiot-_ Eyes flashing in wicked irritation, he took a final step forward, waiting for the other's reaction.

In his desperate attempt to put an added distance between them, Sawamura took a hurried step back without looking, his eyes widening in surprise when his back bumped harshly on something solid. He found himself stumbling on his feet backward, consequently falling as he lost his balance.

'_Wha-?!'_

Haruichi was still on his bended position, slightly panting from his exhaustion when he felt something bumped right on his ass, hard, causing him to stumble on his feet and he flapped helplessly to regain his balance. Extending his arms in an impulse to break his fall, the pink-haired first-year could only squeak in surprise as another weight slumped over his body, his tiny arms giving out from an added weight. The two first years found themselves stumbling right down into the dirt.

"Gaahh!"

"Ugh!"

"That idiot!" Miyuki worriedly rushed towards them, Furuya close to his heels.

Haruichi wheezed, his breath coming out in painful pants as he lifted his trembling hand in desperation. "E-Eijun-kun! Y-You're heavy!" He tried unsuccessfully to worm his way out under his friend's heavy weight.

Sawamura immediately struggled to rise from his sprawled position, but it only caused their limbs to tangle in confusion. He tried to use his hand to hurl his weight away from Haruichi, but the other moved in opposite way, causing the movement to lurch them right back down onto the ground.

"E-Eijun-kun…."

"I-I'm sorry!"

"_Ee kara_, j-just get off my b-back. P-Please."

"Suman Harucchi! I'm really tryin—E-Eh?"

"Y-You're really heav—A-Aree?"

Sawamura suddenly felt his body being lifted from the ground. Blinking in surprise, he turned his head and found Miyuki, hurling Sawamura upward with his arms circled around him protectively. His eyes widen as he choked on his own tongue.

_NOOOOO!_

He froze in disbelief, his body turning rigid as Miyuki stood straight with him at his grasp, clutching the pitcher close to his chest and proceeded to tighten his hold around him. The pitcher suddenly felt breathless, his mind reeling from the heat he felt emitting out of Miyuki's body. He could only gape at the catcher, speechless.

Miyuki turned Sawamura around in his arms to face him and they stared at each other, Sawamura in astonishment and Miyuki in annoyed concern and confusion.

_What's going on?_ Miyuki thought everything went fine last night. He _knew_ it went fine. The moment they shared last night was simply magical. Sawamura was being so cute it took his breath away.

Then what happened within the span of time they weren't together today that made his pitcher so jittery around him? What happened that made him curse the catcher like he did earlier? Miyuki grabbed him at the back of his neck, boring his eyes into his in a heated question. He was about to open his mouth when he heard Haruichi spoke.

"A-ano? Eh? Furuya-kun?!"

Sawamura and Miyuki snapped right back from their own little world as they heard Haruichi's voice. Sawamura gulped gratefully while Miyuki whipped his head towards his two other kouhai in irritation.

Both of them stared in utter disbelief from what they saw.

Sawamura squeaked in surprise and Miyuki could only gape, stunned, as they saw how Furuya gallantly lifted the pink-haired first year in his arms, _bridal-style_, and tucked the other to his chest gently while his expression remained as deadpan as ever. Haruichi on the other hand was blushing furiously they thought he was getting dizzy from all the blood pooling on his cheeks. He was too shocked to even try to squirm from the pitcher's hold.

"Are you comfortable?" Furuya asked coolly.

"Eh?"

"Am I holding you right?"

"Ah, Eto—Y-yes, I mean n-no! No! I mean Furuya-kun…. I can walk on my own— Eep!" Haruichi stifled a surprise squeal when the other simply juggled him on his arms to adjust his weight. "F-Furuya-kun!"

Sighing exasperatedly from the commotion their two companions are making, Miyuki turned his attention back to Sawamura just in time to see the pitcher avoiding his gaze, biting his lower anxiously. Frowning, Miyuki was about to open his mouthto speak _again_, when this time, it was Furuya who beat him to it. Miyuki could feel another irritated vein throbbing on his forehead.

"Something's wrong?" He heard Furuya asked. Looking back at them, Miyuki saw Furuya rubbed his cheek rather intimately at his friend's hair. Haruichi stiffen slightly from the contact and his face flushed in embarrassment. Seeing his red face, Furuya moved his face closer and peered at his friend's eyes carefully. "You're turning red. Do you have a fever?"

"N-No—I—" Haruichi stammered, his cheeks burning hotter from the sudden proximity. Furuya touched his forehead to his lightly, comparing the temperature to his own.

"Let's take you to the infirmary." Furuya stated. Completely ignoring the tense atmosphere between his other friend and his senpai, Furuya grabbed Haruichi's bag from the ground and started to walk away from the other two.

Miyuki sighed in relief. They could finally talk without distraction. His arms tightened around the pitcher in anticipation.

Sawamura, with his mind still a bit preoccupied _(and drowned) _with Miyuki's gentle touches and a hand circling rhythmically at his back, was merely watching his two friends walking away when he froze, wide-eye with a sudden realization. Sawamura gasped.

Wait, wait, and wait. They're walking away. The two of them are walking away. The _two_ them. Then, that means-?

He will be left here alone with Miyuki!

_Noooooooooooo!_

"Harucchi! W-Wait!" He suddenly screamed, causing Miyuki to jump in surprise and Haruichi to snap back from his dazed state.

"W-Wait-! Furuya-kun?!" Haruichi sputtered, looking like he'd finally realize he was being carried in an embarrassing position. He tried struggling to be put down, but Furuya didn't even budge.

"O-Oi, teme Furuya! Where the hell do you think you're taking Harucchi?! Come back here, kura!" Sawamura shouted, half in irritation and half in desperation from being left alone.

"I think it's this way." Furuya merely murmured, walking hurriedly in an opposite direction.

"Wait-! Furuya-kun!" Haruichi turned to look back at his friend, grimacing in apology as he saw Eijun-kun trapped in Miyuki-senpai's grasp.

Sawamura tried to follow after them, pushing his body away from the catcher in desperation but he felt Miyuki's arms tightened around him, clutching him more tightly to his chest. Sawamura felt his heart froze, and his body stiffening in frantic. Looking back at his two friends, he could only watch in despair as they rounded up a corner and finally out of his sight.

_Gyaaaaaaah!_

Sawamura could only scream in silent desperation. His body couldn't move an inch.

'_Harucchi! Please, don't leave me!'_

Waaaaahhh, they're alone. He's alone with Miyuki. What is he going to do?! Just looking at him made him remember Mika-senpai's face. Her very _attractive _face. The face of his rival. Sawamura closed his eyes tightly.

_Nooooooo! Onegai! Anything but that-!_

"Sawamura—" Miyuki started gently.

No! No! No! NO! NO!

"Sawamura."

'_Why is this happening to me? I just want a few moments to think! Just a few moments! Someone, Help me!"_

"Sawamura!"

The pitcher snapped out of his frozen state. With his mind back on its active gear, he suddenly realized Miyuki was staring at him with his face merely inches from him and his hands at the back of his neck, his thumb caressing his cheek gently. The feeling of Miyuki's warm hand on his neck spread like a wild fire on his entire body, and Sawamura suddenly felt his knees weakening. _Not yet. Not yet. I'm not ready yet._

'_I'm not ready to face Miyuki yet! I just can't— Oh God…._

He let out a shaky breath and whispered quietly, a tad desperately. "Let go of me."

Frowning, Miyuki merely tightened his grip. "No."

"I said let me go."

"No."

"Miyuki—"

"I won't"

Sawamura started to struggle, but Miyuki's arms were like an iron, trapping him effectively inside of its clasp. The more he struggled, the more Miyuki tightened his hold. With his eyes burning in anger, Sawamura grabbed the front of his shirt, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Let. Me. Go."

Miyuki stared at him, hard, his eyes demanding Sawamura to stay still. "I. Won't."

They stared at each other, their faces hard from shear stubbornness. Sawamura felt a surge of emotions swirling inside of him, ready to burst out into tiny pieces. He didn't know what to do anymore. His frustration lodge itself on his throat, making him gasped for breath. It felt like it will consume him inside out. It felt like it was flowing on his entire body, making him hot and cold at the same time, its warmth and chills pooling in his head, making him so dizzy. He felt heavy and light at the same time. He felt so confused. And so lonely. So, so lonely. Looking at Miyuki's determined eyes, Miyuki's handsome face, and the gentleness behind his own frustrations, Sawamura felt unbelievably lonely. And so lost.

Sawamura eyelids fluttered as he looked at his hands still clutching Miyuki's shirt and whispered desperately. "Please."

Miyuki eyes softened as he saw in Sawamura's eyes the struggle his pitcher was fighting inside himself. The pain. The confusion. The loneliness. Disregarding that someone might saw them in broad daylight, Miyuki pressed his forehead against Sawamura, his eyes softening more than ever when the pitcher looked up at him, his eyes full of pained frustration.

Miyuki whispered gently. "Sawamura... what's wrong? Tell me. Please."

Sawamura stared back at him, his frustration soaring in silent. _'What's wrong? Hah! Yeah, what's wrong with me?! Why don't you tell me, teme! Because I have no Idea, you asshole! I have no idea! You stupid megane! I have no idea… Shit… Why didn't you tell me anything about her? Not a thing… Nothing at all… Shit… what am I going to do? You tell me… Because… I have no idea… Miyuki you bastard…' _Sawamura suddenly felt his eyes burning with tears and he closed his them tightly, afraid the catcher would see them and become disgusted with his emotional issues. God, what is this feeling? He felt so scared. So, so weak. So pathetic. He grabbed Miyuki's shirt with his fingers tightly, clinging onto them desperately.

Why? They've talked about this. Miyuki told him there's nothing between them. But why does it felt like he was losing already? Why does it felt like he was betrayed?

Seeing his pitcher holding back his tears, Miyuki's heart clenched painfully, like it was bleeding from the pain he could feel emitting from Sawamura. Panic, confused and worried, he cupped his face just as desperately as the other clinging on his shirt, clutching the pitcher closer to his chest tightly. Miyuki's voice cracked as he whispered despairingly. "Sawamura…."

Sawamura grabbed the hand on his cheek; his fingers tightening around Miyuki's while his tears trying to escape from his closed eyes. Miyuki's fingers are so cold. They're freezing. But he wondered why, somehow, the feeling of Miyuki's hand on his cheek warmed Sawamura all over.

So cold and so warm at the same time. Just like the feelings churning inside his heart. Just as cold as the wind caressing his cheeks and as warm as the tears burning underneath his lids. Just like Miyuki. So cold when he stood on the field as the team's catcher, but so warm when he was alone with Sawamura.

Just like last night. Miyuki was so warm last night. And despite the cold, Sawamura never felt the chills while he was being held. Never.

_Miyuki…._

Last night was special. Last night, Miyuki showed him a part of himself. And Sawamura wanted to believe it.

The memory from last night wormed its way into his heart and strangely enough, Sawamura felt so warmed. The warmth turned into a white hot fire, melting the ice encasing his illogical reasons, causing his frustration to lessen considerably and at the same time, he felt suddenly ashamed.

He felt so pathetic. So blinded with things he had no control. He may not like the catcher's personality, yes, but through all the games and practice they've been together, had Miyuki ever gave him the reason to doubt him? Probably yes. But he chose to trust him in the end just as well. Did that made him an idiot? Probably that's true. But sometimes, weren't the idiots who always won the game? In that case, he'll be an idiot for the rest of his life. And then, he won't lose. He'll have Miyuki as a prize. All to himself.

It's true he couldn't control everything. But what the hell? He's Sawamura Eijun. And Sawamura Eijun took charge of things his heart desires. No exception. Just like Baseball. Just like when he decided to attend Seido and formed a battery with Miyuki. Just like he decided to become an ace and surpass Furuya. And this time, falling in love with this megane bastard.

How could he forget? How could he give up? He was a fighter isn't he? Sawamura Eijun was never a quitter. He won't lose. Not to himself, and not to _her._

Sawamura opened his eyes gently as he felt a ghost of breath fanning on top of his head. Looking up, he felt Miyuki kissed his forehead lightly, his fingers smoothing gently on his cheek. He swallowed hard, his chest clenching from the signs of affection.

"Miyuki…" He whispered quietly.

The catcher looked down and their eyes met. Sawamura inhaled sharply. Miyuki's eyes bored into him so full of emotions. Emotions he didn't know how to describe. But one thing he knew for sure, those emotions reflected his very own.

Sawamura's jaw clenched and he was suddenly full of determination. "Miyuki…"

Miyuki caressed his cheek gently. "What is it?"

"You know…." Sawamura stared back at him. "—I don't really like you."

Miyuki blanched and he nearly stumbled on his feet when it felt like an imaginary arrow struck him on his back. Hard.

'_I don't really like you…. like you… like you… like you…likeyou…' _The echo of Miyuki's despair inside of his head.

"Uggh."

"You're a cocky bastard."

Another arrow.

"You're so selfish."

Another one, this time, it dug a bit deeper.

"I hate your smug face; you're not even that handsome."

Ouch, and that's another one, and so deep.

"And you're not yet in par with Chris-senpai's greatness. No. Not good at all."

Aaaaaaand another one. The deepest.

Poor Miyuki.

Sawamura eyes softened as he his fingers tightens around Miyuki so hard the catcher thought it cut off his blood flow, causing his already freezing fingers to go numb. Miyuki staggered on his feet, still trying to recover from the verbal abuse.

Sawamura murmured. "I don't really like you, but—" He looked up and met the other's eyes. Miyuki's breath caught in his throat, his heart thumping wildly as he saw the intense emotions swirling in Sawamura's eyes. The scene was so breathtaking, so—so beautiful.

"-but I trust you as a catcher. So this time, I will extend that trust outside the baseball field." Miyuki swallowed as the other pinned him with intense glare. "Answer my question, teme. And I want the truth."

Miyuki stammered, feeling hot all over from the heated stare Sawamura was throwing at him. God, he looks so beautiful. "O-Okay."

Sawamura eyes softened once again and he rubbed his cheek slightly in Miyuki's palm. "Last night…" He paused, and Miyuki held his breath. What about last night? Sawamura swallowed the lump lodging on his throat, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. "It's not just me who felt it, right? " Sawamura looked up at him. "What you showed me were real. It's not a lie, right? Last night, none of your actions were lies right?"

Miyuki froze, his eyes widening and he stared back at the other incredulously. Wait a minute- Lie? Last night? What is he talking about? Of course it's not a lie! Last night was one of the best nights he ever had! What is this idiot talking about? How could he doubt it? They shared something special. They discovered something special. How could it be a lie? _This idiot-!_

Miyuki suddenly cupped Sawamura's face with both hands forcefully, leaning his face so close he heard Sawamura gasped in surprise. Miyuki clutched him so close his lips were merely an inch away from the other. He muttered sharply, almost angrily.

"You idiot! I don't know what's going on and what happened that made you so uncertain with me, you idiot, but let me make one thing _clear_ Sawamura—" Miyuki tightened his grip and Sawamura nearly whimpered. "I'm maybe a lot of things, that's true. I'm cocky, I'm selfish, and yes I'm still inferior against Chris-senpai, and yes! I'm a bastard! But when it comes to my feelings for you, you listen to me you idiot! I will _never _lie! It will _never _be a lie. Not last night, not right now, and not even in the future. Do you understand me?" Miyuki snapped, panting slightly from the uncontrollable anger and frustration storming inside him.

"I will never lie. Just trust me." He whispered.

Sawamura closed his eyes tightly, feeling another burning of tears coming to surface as he sunk deeper into Miyuki's embrace. He swallowed hard and nodded his head, his voice cracking with tears as he spoke. "I-I know."

He doesn't care anymore. He won't ask. He won't pry. He will wait until Miyuki explained it to him fully. His worry about Mika-senpai won't disappear completely, yes, but he'll trust what Miyuki told him. He will believe in him.

"Ah, geez, you're such an idiot. Really." Miyuki snaked his arm around Sawamura's neck and hugged him tightly. "What am I going to do with you? You idiot."

Sawamura sniffed.

"You're such a crybaby." Miyuki teased gently, pushing his body a bit away to peer in the other's eyes. He grinned when Sawamura tried to glare, but failed terribly when his eyes merely shone with restrained tears.

"Who's crying?!"

Miyuki's expression softened. That's the Sawamura he knew. And that's how he should always be. Despite the frustrations he encountered that sometimes made him burst into tears; Sawamura always bounced back with an unwavering fighting spirit. Miyuki smiled fondly, admitting to himself that in the most important things, Sawamura is strong, stronger than anybody else he knew, even compared to himself. Yes, Sawamura has a strength recognized by everyone who knows him well. So whatever it is that made him wept, it might have caused him a great deal of distress.

Miyuki frowned and he fixed the other with questioning gaze.

"Sawamura." He murmured.

"Hm?" Sawamura tried to hide his face in Miyuki's chest, but he frowned when the other held him back, coaxing him to listen. "What?"

"Tell me. What happened earlier? I want to know the truth."

The pitcher avoided his gaze, fidgeting slightly. "I-It's nothing important."

Miyuki sighed. "If it's nothing important, then why did you act like that? You even brought up about last night." Although Miyuki had no complain about that either. Their talk today was as close to a confession as any other that could happen at this early stage of their feelings. They're still starting on this road. There's no need to rush.

"Just tell me."

"T-that's— eto—" Sawamura fidgeted some more. He was about to open his mouth to come up with another _(obvious)_ lie when he was suddenly cut off as they heard another voice spoke.

"Miyuki."

Both of them jumped away from each other in an instant, Sawamura blushing furiously from being caught in an intimate embrace with Miyuki in broad daylight, and Miyuki in slight annoyance from being disturbed. Miyuki was so ready to snap from all the interruptions. Just one more and he'll really strangle the next person who will try interrupting him with his pitcher. Miyuki can be vindictive if he really put his mind into it, you know.

Sawamura and Miyuki spun around and found Kuramochi a few meters away, gawking at them with a lifted brow. Sawamura immediately stiffen, suddenly remembering what happened earlier and he avoided his senpai's pointed stare, while Miyuki frowned. He looked between the two and finally settled his gaze to Kuramochi. He'd been hanging out with the shortstop for nearly two years he could tell right away the other was tense, or more accurately, a bit _worried. _Kuramochi shifted his attention towards him and their eyes met. His frown deepened.

"Coach asked me to fetch you. He's been waiting for you since thirty minutes ago."

Miyuki narrowed his eyes and Kuramochi shrugged lightly, obviously silently saying that he won't say anything with Sawamura in hearing range. Miyuki sighed and turned to his attention back to his fidgeting pitcher.

"You can go back before me Sawamura. Tell Furuya, _if_ he's already back, to ask Miyauchi-senpai to catch for him. You can ask Ono to catch for you since Chris-senpai was probably in the office as well." Miyuki caught his arm when he Sawamura nearly stumbled in his hurry to escape. He murmured silently. "And we're not finish yet. We'll talk later, understand?"

Sawamura looked up at him and their eyes met. Miyuki saw uncertainty while Sawamura saw determination in the other's eyes. The pitcher gulped and turned his head to look at Kuramochi. He couldn't read his senpai's expression at all. But he really hoped Kuramochi wouldn't say anything about what happened earlier to Miyuki. Somehow, he was a bit scared of what it may turn into. Actually, he's extremely worried to learn about Mika-senpai's role in Miyuki's life.

Sawamura tried to convey his feeling in his eyes, but Kuramochi merely stared back at him. He sighed in resignation. "I-I'll be going first."

Miyuki and Kuramochi watched silently as Sawamura run to the bullpen, an uncomfortable silence descending between the two. Miyuki didn't try to coax the other to speak, and he merely watched until Sawamura was out of sight and he spun around to walk towards Coach Kataoka's office. He heard the sign of Kuramochi following him and he spoke quietly.

"What is it?"

"What's what?"

He sighed. "I know something's wrong with Sawamura today, but he hadn't told me anything at all. I think you know something about it. No, I _know _you know something about it. So what is it?"

"Hoho, so sure huh?"

"Ahh. Both of you are really not that good in hiding your feelings. Especially Sawamura."

Kuramochi huffed. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Although I agree, one hundred percent, about Sawamura."

Miyuki smirked. "So? What is it then?"

Kuramochi was silent as they continue on their walk. Miyuki tried to wait and didn't speak another word, but he was becoming extremely impatient. Not that anyone can blame him. He just saw how distressed his pitcher was earlier. He was so ready to knock anyone who caused Sawamura a great deal of suffering. Miyuki stopped on his track and turned. He was about to demand Kuramochi to just spit it out when the other spoke quietly.

"We met Arashi Mika-san."

Miyuki froze. With his heart suddenly hammering inside his chest, he looked back at Kuramochi with wide eyes and whispered. "What?"

Kuramochi stared back at him, his eyes glinting hard. "I said we met Arashi Mika-san. I don't really know how Sawamura and Ryo-san's brother met her, but the three of them were already walking towards the field when I saw them. She was looking for you. Sawamura didn't know it was her at first. Kuso—" He rubbed his forehead in agitation. "It was such a mess. Miyuki teme—" Kuramochi suddenly rounded up on the catcher, his eyes narrowed in irritation. "Why the hell didn't you say anything about her to Sawamura? You should have seen his face when he finally realized it was her! Teme, you have a lot of explaining to do kura!"

"Shit." Miyuki muttered, slipping his fingers through his hair in frustration. Why he hadn't thought of that possibility? Just one look on Sawamura's distress and he should had been able to guess what happened. How could he be so careless? It hadn't occurred to him that Sawamura will meet Mika before he could explain the situation to him. It wasn't supposed to happen. They shouldn't had met.

But what could he do? He was still coming up with a better explanation that won't risk his budding relationship with his pitcher. It's one of the reasons why he asked everyone not to get involve with her. They might discover something about him, and Sawamura will hear about it as well. He hadn't thought that it would be Sawamura who will meet her first of all people.

Miyuki turned rigid, suddenly realizing something. If what Kuramochi said was true, then she had been talking with Sawamura long before Kuramochi stumble upon them. Kuso, what did she say to him? Did she tell him the truth? Did she tell him their real relationship? _Crap._

Miyuki spun around in haste, intending to run to the bullpen and talk to Sawamura immediately that his sudden movement threw Kuramochi caught-off guard, and the other nearly fell on his ass. Kuramochi hissed while Miyuki suddenly froze again.

No, no, no, no. Calm down. They've already talk. '_I think if Sawamura had found out the truth, his reaction would have been different. Forget about tears, he would have killed me on the spot.' _Yes, yes. That would have been the right reaction.

Miyuki sighed. He still had time. He just had to find the right words and it shouldn't cause a rift between them. Miyuki turned around again, still deep in thought.

Kuramochi's eye twitched when it looks the bastard had totally forgotten his presence and had no intention to apologize at all.

"Teme! Are you even listening to me?"

Miyuki didn't respond.

"Miyuki!"

Miyuki blinked back at him. "Huh? Nani?"

Kuramochi nearly pulled his hair in frustration and sighed. Ah, what the hell! Why is he even bothering with this bastard? Every time they talk, all he ends up wanting to do is to strangle him to death. Too bad Miyuki isn't Sawamura. He could have just kicked him so hard he'll won't be able to walk for a week. It's probably the greatest punishment for him. Not that Kuramochi could do it to the catcher easily. The other would probably come up with something smart that'll allow him to escape from his clutches. Miyuki is a genius in dodging after all. Literally and figuratively. And anyway, their coach would probably kick Kuramochi if he found out he nearly injured their precious catcher.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's not listening." Miyuki stated. Kuramochi twitched in irritation.

"Haaaaahh!?"

"Are you coming in with me?"

"Huh?!" Looking around, Kuramochi finally realized they were already in front of the office. He sighed. "No. Coach already talked to me. He said I can go back to practice on Monday."

"Hoooo? Well, he probably got tired of you sneaking around."

"I'm not!"

Myuki smirked. "Well, then." He was about to turned to the door when Kuramochi stood in front of him, blocking the way. Miyuki lifted his brow. "What is it?"

Kuramochi studied the catcher. He knew Miyuki likes Sawamura. And he knew he wouldn't do anything that would intentionally hurt the pitcher. But he also knew how sometimes, Miyuki could be a dumbass. He would probably try to fix things himself and will keep Sawamura out of it. Besides, Miyuki, when it comes to a battle within himself, is a complete loner. Love wouldn't change that overnight. But that doesn't mean he'll go easy on him and allow the bastard to hurt his roommate and kouhai.

Determined, Kuramochi took a step closer to the other and hit the back of his fist hard on Miyuki's chest. Miyuki hissed and glared back at him. Kuramochi merely shoved his fist harder.

"Listen. I don't know who Arashi Mika is to you and why you still refused to talk about her to us, especially to Sawamura. But remember this—" Kuramochi narrowed his eyes, "If you make Sawamura cry again, that idiot's anger is least thing you have to worry about." Kuramochi dug his fist deeper on his chest to make his point.

Miyuki stared back at him, his eyes meeting Kuramochi just as hard. Grabbing the shortstop fist from his chest, Miyuki pushed him slightly from blocking his way. Kuramochi stumble back, while the catcher merely grabbed the door's knob. He turned to look back at him before he entered.

"You don't really need to tell me, I already know that."

Kuramochi watched as the other entered the room. Yes, Miyuki knew what he meant. Sawamura's wrath is really the _least _thing he has to worry about. Kuramochi hoped no one saw the pitcher cried earlier. He was already unsettled not to be able to punch the catcher. He'll give Miyuki _another_ chance.

Kuramochi turned, intending to sneak to the field and find Jun-san. They need to do something about Arashi Mika-san. At this rate, everyone will probably kill the catcher, sooner or later. And Coach will in turn kill them as well. Not a good scenario at all in Kuramochi's opinion.

He was about to ran back to the field when—

"You-chan~"

Kuramochi froze, a bullet of sweat sliding on his forehead and he felt his heart skipped a beat. _Don't tell me— _turning his head around slowly in trepidation, his eyes landed at Ryo-san who was standing leisurely with his back on the wall, his arms crossed on his chest and his lips lifted in an almost smile. Kuramochi gulped.

"Ahahaha… Ryo-san… what a coincidence."

Ryo lifted his brow. "Yeah. So true. What a _coincidence_."

Kuramochi twitched and his smile wavered. "Eh, what are you doing here by the way? I-I thought you're practicing at this time."

"Saa." He shrugged casually, "I wonder. Anyway—" He threw him a narrowed stare "What. Are. You. Doing. Here? You're still sick, aren't you?" and Ryo-san smiled sweetly back at him, his eyes clearly saying that Kuramochi better come up of an acceptable explanation or there will be hell to pay.

Kuramochi stifled a shiver from the pressure.

"—Uhhh, Coach called out for me."

"Really. Heeh~ And then?"

"Uhh… That's all."

"And where are you headed to now?" Ryo's smile turned into a smirk, his eyes saying that he knew exactly where Kuramochi was intending to go.

Kuramochi sweat dropped. "I-uhh—back to the dorm, I-I guess?"

"Really? Then, I'll come with you." Ryo-san straightened away from the wall and stood beside him. "It's not a problem right?" He smirked evilly.

"H-Hai."

"Well then, let's go." Ryo lead the way, his smile didn't disappear at all and it's making the other extremely nervous.

Kuramochi could only slump his shoulder in disappointment as he followed the other outside and they walked towards the direction of the dorms. Ahhhh! And he was really looking forward to gossip about what happened to Jun-san! (Well, minus Sawamura crying). Kuramochi was still wailing in silent despair when Ryo-san suddenly stopped on his track and he nearly bump onto his back. Kuramochi blinked in surprise.

Ryo-san turned to look back at him a bit and smiled gently. "Unexpectedly, You-chan can be such a good nii-chan, ne?"

"Eh?"

"Don't worry. I won't tell Sawamura about it. Mah, but I'm still wondering what will be his reaction if he found out he was deeply cared for by his senpai. Romantic isn't? Such brotherly love." He smirked teasingly.

Kuramochi gaped. Huh? What is Ryo-san talking about? Brotherly love? To Sawamura? It was like— he—saw – Eh?

His eyes widen.

"Ry-Ryo-s-san!" Kuramochi exclaimed, mortified, and a delicious blush creeping to his cheeks as he gape back at the second baseman like a fish. He was totally embarrassed, and Ryo could even swear You-chan's entire body was turning beet red at this point.

"But it's really heartwarming, you know."

"It's not like that!" The shortstop protested loudly. Ahhh, _kuso_! Why didn't he realize Ryo-san was near them when he was talking to Miyuki? Waahhh! So embarrassing! Ryo-san saw such an embarrassing side of him!

Kuramochi could feel his blush deepening. Gyahhh why?! Usually, he has a strong _Kominato Ryosuke-radar_ constantly blaring on alert, specially these past few days that he was starting to admit to himself that what he feels for the other isn't just a simple respect as his partner inside of a baseball game. Kuramochi likes him. Very much.

His heart started racing from the thought and he bit his lower lip.

Ahhhh! How could he be so careless?! And he saw him just now, acting all –uh—protective towards Sawamura. Gyaaahhh! So embarrassing! He flushed deeply.

Ryo-san snickered, watching Kuramochi's internal struggle and the flush covering his entire face, spreading deliciously every minute. That was the best reaction if he say so himself. A flustered You-chan is always the best You-chan after all.

Well okay, second to the best. Ryo still hadn't seen the first; You-chan's reaction as he was spread deliciously underneath him to devour. He smirked. It wouldn't be long before it happens, he'll make sure of that.

He looked back at his shortstop, who was still protesting feebly, muttering under his breath that that wasn't what he meant at all. Seizing the other's necktie playfully, Ryo pulled it down; bringing Kuramochi's still flushing face close to his.

"Don't worry—" Ryo whispered inches away from Kuramochi's lips, smiling gently. "You look _really_ cool back there."

Kuramochi gulped from the close proximity. "T-that's—L-Like I said, it's not like t-that—" He can feel the heat on his cheeks rising to extreme level, his eyes trying helplessly to avoid looking at Ryo-san lips. But it was no use. He eyes keep going back. Ah shit.

"You-chan."

"H-Hai!?" Ahhhhh! Kuramochi had thought about this before, but he really had this bad feeling that he was being so out of character when it comes to Ryo-san being so—so—uhhh— well—s-so—_s-sedutive._

Ryo smiled. Bringing in Kuramochi's face closer, their eyes locked with each other. Kuramochi gulped and Ryo smirked. "You-chan~" He breathed.

"N-Nani?"

Ryo suddenly let his tie go and spun on his heels, walking away nonchalantly. Without the force tugging on his tie, Kuramochi nearly fell on the ground, face-first. The shortstop flapped frantically as he tried to balance himself.

"Better take a shower before dinner. It's better if you don't join the other players, they may catch your cold." _Although it was already healed. _Ryo wouldn't allow anyone seeing his shortstop naked body without him near. The regulars have a meeting after practice, so he wouldn't be present during his bath. No, Ryo won't allow it at all.

Kuramochi grimaced as he straightened himself, cursing under his breath about stupid senpai raising his hope when suddenly—

"Oh, and by the way—" Ryo-san abruptly spun, he walked briskly back towards him and unceremoniously tugged his tie down. Kuramochi yelp as he was grabbed at the back of his neck.

"Eh? Ryo-sa—?!"

Kuramochi words were totally cut off. His eyes widen comically as Ryo-san tugged his head down, bringing in their faces closer than ever, and caught his lips in a searing kiss.

Kuramochi gasped, stunned out of his mind and Ryo-san grabbed his head tighter to deepen the kiss. Before Kuramochi could come up with of something appropriate to do _(like responding to the kiss enthusiastically)_ Ryo-san suddenly released him and (_disappointingly)_ ended the kiss.

Kuramochi took a hurried step back and slapped a hand over his mouth, gaping back at the other in shock while Ryo-san smirked teasingly.

"That was delicious."

Ryo casually turned and walked back to the field, leaving Kuramochi gaping, blushing furiously from extreme embarrassment (_and happiness)._

….

'_It's not a lie, right?'_

Miyuki sighed as Sawamura words echoed through his head. He didn't lie. Not at all. His feelings are real. But there are different facets of dishonesty one could do to others. And he's afraid it'll bite him in the ass at the end. Just imagining Sawamura's would-be reaction to his explanation made him sweat bullets uneasily. Well, it's not like it was that serious, right? He could just say it casually. Sawamura won't think about it at all. He'll just have to make sure the pitcher would understand that.

He was so busy coming up with explanations in his head that he ignored almost everyone around him entirely, including the people he was having a meeting with.

"Chris, I think it's better if Miyuki joined you. He'll be able to brief the pitchers directly if he saw first-hand what they are capable of. What do you think Miyuki?" Kataoka shifted his gaze towards the catcher, expecting his opinion. He frowned when he realized the brat wasn't listening at all.

Chris, on the other hand, blinked in confusion when he didn't hear his kouhai respond. Looking at his left, he saw the other looking out the window, totally preoccupied. The catcher was even nodding and shaking his head in responds into what he'd been debating with in his mind, while Kataoka stared at the other. Chris winced from the scene. He sweat dropped as he heard his coach coughed pointedly.

"Ne, Miyuki—"

Miyuki jerked in surprise when he felt an elbow nudged him secretly, jolting him way from his musings. Looking up to his right, he saw Chris-senpai frowning at him, his eyes glinting in tad confusion.

"Hai?"

Chris frown deepened.

"Coach is talking to you."

Miyuki snapped his head to look at Kataoka and found his Coach looking at him sternly, an irritated vein throbbing on his forehead. Rei-chan, who was standing on Kataoka's left, was also staring at him with disapproving eyes. Miyuki gulped. "Eto—Sumimasen, I wasn't listening." He apologized feebly.

Kataoka sighed. "This isn't like you Miyuki. Did you even hear _half_ of what we talked today?"

"Uhh—hai, I heard half of it sir."

Kataoka's face turned sour and Chris stifled a snicker from the respond. Miyuki's eyes widen when finally realized what he said. "No! I mean, not just half, I heard almost all of it. I was just thinking about a better practice menu for Sawamura and Furuya, really." He lied, sweat dropping.

The three of them threw him a disbelieving looks. Miyuki twitched, feeling uncomfortable from the scrutinizing look Coach Kataoka was sending his way and Rei-chan's deadpanned stare. He nearly sighed in relief when Kataoka turned his attention away from the catcher and spoke to Chris instead.

Miyuki chastised himself. He was bothered about what happened earlier with Sawamura, yes, but he's the official catcher for this team. He didn't need distraction during such crucial time of their training.

But—

Sawamura's tearful expression flashed before his eyes and Miyuki clenched his fist. Still, Sawamura is just as important to him as any baseball game, probably more. How could he just ignore the pain he may cause him? How could he forget his tears earlier? He might had restrained them so Miyuki wouldn't see them falling, but they were pretty much obvious. Sawamura was hurt, confused.

Miyuki sighed dejectedly. He'll be dead before everything settled down with this issue, he was sure of it. Not to mention, he will be in great pain himself when Sawamura was hurt even a little. _Literally, physically and emotionally._ Miyuki couldn't just get what Kuramochi said earlier out of his mind. The mere implication of what it means just made him shiver in slight fear and secretly smirked in amusement. Oh, he very well understands what the shortstop meant. Very much.

Despite Sawamura's annoying, boisterous and loud personality, a lot of his teammates will tear him apart if he ever hurt their noisy pitcher. Especially Furuya and Haruichi. Miyuki wasn't sure how, but both of them will definitely pummel him to death.

But forget about the two first-years, Miyuki was more worried of Kuramochi and Masuko-san wrath. They are Sawamura's big brothers here in Seido. He'll be dead before he even knows it. No, wait. So are Jun-san and Tetsu-san, right? They're very fond of Sawamura. Miyuki sweat dropped. Now that he thinks about it, almost everyone in regulars would probably be his enemy. Not to mentioned Chris-senpai.

Miyuki sneaked a peek at the man beside him. It'll be regrettable if Chris-senpai should ever dislike him because of Sawamura. He respected Chris-senpai very much and he likes Sawamura soooo much. Both opinions are important to him.

But what could he do? He couldn't possibly stay glued beside his pitcher so he wouldn't be able to encounter Mika again. They're both in different year and classes. And he's too busy supervising the pitchers, not only Sawamura, during practice, especially now that they were so busy with summer coming in a few weeks. He couldn't just focus his entire attention with his pitcher. Miyuki suddenly felt uneasy, Mika's appearance in front of the pitcher became a lot more threatening in his eyes.

Miyuki frowned. He knew everyone will help him protect Sawamura from Mika's presence. They wouldn't allow the pitcher to get hurt and by extension, they wouldn't allow her to come near him at all. But that doesn't mean Miyuki can afford more time before he decide to have a proper talked with his pitcher about his real relationship with her. Just one wrong move, one wrong word and there will be another huge misunderstanding between them. He just hoped Sawamura will stay calm enough to hear him out. Miyuki wouldn't allow any other options.

"—yuki—"

He blinked.

"Miyuki!"

"Ah, hai?!" _Ahhh Shimata!_ _Not again!_ Miyuki sent his Coach a sheepish smile.

"You're not listening _at all_." Rei-chan deadpanned.

Miyuki bowed and mumbled remorsefully. "Sumimasen."

"Anyway—"Kataoka stated sternly and sighed. "—I was just saying that you better come with Chris in an Inashiro's practice game this coming Sunday. It'll be a big improvement of our data about them."

Miyuki lifted his brow. Inashiro huh? That wouldn't be bad. They're the strongest opponent they may encounter this summer. "I understand." He answered. "I also think it'll be better if Furuya and Sawamu—"

Eh?

Miyuki stopped short, blinking.

_Sa-Sawamura? _

He suddenly froze, his eyes widening.

Oi, wait a minute.

Sunday? _This coming Sunday?! But Sunday is—!_

"Ahhhhhhh!" Miyuki abruptly stood in frantic, making his three companions jumped with surprise. They snapped their heads towards him and gape.

"What is it?" Rei-chan asked, confused.

"I—Ahh—uhh—n-nothing. It's nothing." Miyuki slumped back on his seat, palming his face in agitation.

_It's not 'It's nothing' at all!_

How in hell is he going to explain this to Sawamura?

Miyuki could only curse silently.

'_Crap. Our first date…'_

_..._

* * *

**Chapter 8 _(Part III) : Trust Me, Baka!_**

_End of Chapter (Part II)…_

* * *

A/N: *bows frantically* Waahhh! So sorry for the late update! *bows* So busy! Just so busy! Hope you still liked this….! And again, thank you for all the reviews and comments… SO sorry..!


	10. Chapter 8 - Part III

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Eight **_**(Part III)**_

* * *

Masuko Tooru bit his lower lip as he walked back to the field, deep in thought and mind circling in complete chaos. He witnessed something he shouldn't have. No, more like, he saw something so… so… well... so sweet? So illicit? NO. So… so— uh… yes! So unbelievingly _heart wrenching_ and so wonderfully _cute_ it might just cause him to get killed. Or _he_ and _Miyuki _both.

Crap. Now what? What is he going to do? Should he inform the others about what he saw? Wait, no, no. It's Sawamura and Miyuki's business. It's not a situation he could just meddle with. But then, should he keep silent about it? No, no, no. Jun and Tetsu will kill him if they ever found out that he didn't say anything. Actually, scratch that, everyone would probably kill him!

Although he's not sure if it's because they care, or they just want something to gossip about. Well, at least they will have something to say about it, in pure horror no less.

Mince meat. Jun will turn him into mince meat. Masuko's shoulders slumped in defeat, totally stressed out.

Why? Why did he even decide to follow Sawamura-chan and Haruichi-chan after he and Kuramochi-chan talked? He should have chosen another pathway!

_'Well, what choice did you have? It's the nearest path to go back._'

But still—! He should have gone in opposite direction! He wouldn't have seen anything at all!

'_Well, weren't you scared to face Tetsu if he ever found out that you were late to get back to practice?'_

That's true! But still—! He should have gone back when he saw the drama unfolds right before his eyes! He didn't need to watch!

'_Yeah well, you really thought it wouldn't last that long.'_

But—but— but—still—!

'_And yeah, aren't you late now that you dashed in opposite direction in panic as soon as Miyuki and Kuramochi-chan nearly caught you watching the scene? So it actually beats the purpose of choosing that path in the first place! Masuko, Good Job!'_

He's dead. He's so, so dead.

Masuko sighed dejectedly. What the hell is he going to do? His head's already spinning in confusion. And on top of that, he's starting to go crazy. Who answered their own inner monologue anyway?

'_Everyone, obviously. Ahou.'_

_Gaaaaaaahh!_

Well, it's not his fault! And besides, it was Miyuki and Sawamura's fault! Why were they even being all lovey-dovey in broad daylight? Though admittedly, what he witnessed was far from being lovey-dovey at all. Masuko was still in a state of wanting to smash something with his fist (preferably Miyuki's nose) when he saw his first-year roommate in near tears. But he honestly had no intention to overhear them at all! No, none at all! Promise!

"Oi, kura, Masuko. What are you mumbling to yourself over there?"

"Eek!?" The third-baseman nearly jump out of his skin and turned to look at his back, surprised. He gulped when he found most of the third-years sauntering towards him, some of them chattering among themselves while the others were looking at him like he sprouted an afro over his head. Tetsu raised his eyebrows in confusion while Jun frowned back at him, a tad suspicious. It was only Tanba who was staring at him with worry.

Masuko's eyes widened. Another Good Job! Just the very people he least wanted to see at the moment!

Tetsu raised a brow, watching his teammate almost shuffling on his feet, fidgeting. "What's wrong Masuko? You're already late for practice. It's been almost an hour since Coach asked you to call Kuramochi." Tetsu stopped-short, and he stared back at him sharply. "You're not skipping practice, are you?"

Masuko shook his head fervently.

"Then why are you loitering around here, huh?!" Jun paused, watching the other flinched from the question. "Wait, that reaction! You're hiding something aren't you teme? What is it?! Spill it out!"

"It's n-nothing!" Masuko squeaked _(very manly, of course)_ in response, his voice coming out like a strangled frog. He flushed deeply when most of his teammates gaped back at him in disbelief, while the others started sniggering under their breaths.

"Uh… Masuko?" Tetsu gaped.

Masuko coughed, trying to calm his cheeks from reddening any more than they already do. "I-I mean, it's nothing. It's nothing really. I'm actually on my way back."

Jun glared. "Then why are taking the long way, huh?" Suddenly his eyes widened when he came into a 'realization', his reaction swiftly turning livid and horror-struck. "Don't tell me—! It's a girl isn't it?!" He stomped towards the other and grabbed his shirt, shaking the bigger man wildly on his feet.

"Masuko teme! It's a girl isn't it! I knew it—!"

"I-it's not!"

"—that's why you're being secretive aren't you?! You have some nerve you bastard! Meeting a girl behind our back! Teme, I'm so _envious!_" Jun gritted the last word under his breath, his eyes burning green with envy.

Tetsu flinched, while his other teammates strained their ears in the conversation, secretly interested (and secretly pissed off) that Masuko's hiding a girlfriend.

Jun is still on the roll. "Tell me! Who is it?!"

"Like I said—!"

"Her name! What's her name?!" Jun persisted, unaware of a looming storm brewing behind his back. Tanba, blessed his (probably strong _survival_ instinct) realized the looming danger and immediately took several steps away from the group, his eyes fixed to his captain warily, while his other teammates watched him in confusion.

"Tanba? What are you—?"

"Jun."

Everyone who stood behind Tetsu froze, including Tanba who were still in a middle of his escape.

_Oh shit._

Suddenly, an ominous aura burst in all direction, making them all shudder from where they stood. Everyone hurriedly scrambled away, Tanba mysteriously nowhere in sight, while Jun on the other hand, was still too preoccupied strangling Masuko that he didn't even heard his name being called.

The aura intensified. _Tenfold._

Everyone gulped and they all took several steps away in alarm. They watched in dread as their captain approached the two idiots in a deliberate stride, his footstep slow and silent, while everyone tried helplessly to get their attention, waving their hands frantically. Unfortunately for them, Masuko and Jun were still both completely oblivious in the middle of their '_raucous'_ discussion.

They're dead.

Jun was still in the middle of his furious inquiry when he finally realized something is wrong. He saw one of his teammates at the corner of his eye flailing his hands, motioning for him to look at his back. Jun stilled, his senses suddenly heightened in dread.

Something's burning. Behind his back. And so alarmingly _familiar_. Eyes widening, he looked up at Masuko and they exchanged apprehensive looks.

Yeah. They're so dead. Crispy and juicy.

Masuko and Jun nearly squeaked in surprise and they both jumped inches away from the ground when a hand clamped down on each of them out of nowhere. One on Jun's nape whiles the other on Masuko's head, both hands tightening threateningly around them.

"You two—" They both looked up and gulped when they met their captain's cold smile. "—have a _lot _of explaining to do. Ne?" Tetsu narrowed his eyes, daring them to protest. All they can do is to nod in so much eagerness it didn't even occur to them they practically had no idea what kind of explaining Tetsu was talking about. Masuko looked at his scattered teammates for help, but they all shook their heads fervently, terrified.

"Good. Then, why don't we start with Jun?" Tetsu turned to smile at him _so sickly_ sweet it stamped the brewing objection from Jun's mouth, and it nearly made him swallow a whimper. "Tell me— why are you so interested to learn if ever Masuko really skipped practice—" Masuko started to utter a weak protest at that, but he snapped his mouth shut instantly when Tetsu shoot him warning glare.

"—just to meet a girl, huh, Jun?" Tetsu turned his attention back at him. "Explain."

Jun felt his throat turned dry and he swallowed audibly, his cheeks' reddening a bit. "N-Nothing. Just a bit curious."

"Hooo?" Tetsu raised his brow, eying him suspiciously. "I don't think so. Try again."

"Well what do you think is it then?!"

Tetsu's eyes turned fierce, moving his hand away from his nape and grasping his elbow tightly instead. "Jealous?"

"Wha—? No! Jealous of what?!"

Tetsu just gave him a stare. And although his Captain didn't say anything, the ominous silence made Jun squirmed even more.

"The hell! I'm not, teme! I'm just—!" Jun snapped his mouth shut, suddenly unable continue. Well, just how in hell is he going to explain it anyway? That he's been irritated this past couple of days because Tetsu's been busy with all the meetings and training and they hadn't been able to… uh… _ahem_—be together alone? Jun can already feel the horror of embarrassment it will cost him if he ever admits it. Just trying to imagine that bastard's smirk from hearing that reason makes him want to punch him right on his smug (and very _handsome)_ face!

"Just?"

"Nothing!"

"I'm really curious, so tell me what it is."

"It's nothing! You're pushy!"

Tetsu can already feel a surge of jealousy flowing into his veins. Suspicious. _Very suspicious._ Looking at his vice-captain face, he was about to growl out disbelievingly when he stopped short, eyes fixed on Jun's face.

Jun is blushing. And fidgeting. And looking so _seductively_ guilty he looked _absolutely_ delicious.

Shit..

Suddenly feeling his stomach knotting uncomfortably, Tetsu coughed, stamping the heat Jun's expression caused inside of him. He shifted his eyes away from the sight and swallowed his unexpected discomfort. "W-Well, we'll talk about it later."

Jun eyed his captain, now a bit confused from the sudden cease of argument from the other. As he watched, he saw Tetsu cleared his throat like he was trying to regain his composure. Jun shot him a look of full of suspicion and uncertainty. Tetsu looked back at him and their eyes met, silently communicating with each other. Jun glared.

"What the hell, oraaaa?!"

Masuko saw his chance. Tetsu is too busy with his attention directed at his vice-captain that he didn't even notice his grasp slipping from Masuko's head. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, the third-baseman slowly turned and walked away from them in tip-toe, moving from the _'loving'_ scene as fast as he could. He'll be dead in so many ways if he stayed any longer! (Diabetes mainly the cause). That scene almost made his tooth aches.

Now's the chance!

He was already a few steps away from the two when Masuko looked at his right and paused, watching one of his teammates waving at him in frantic. Masuko blinked and tilted his head in question.

Eyes widening, his teammate's waving turned even more frenzied, pointing something at Masuko's back. Masuko's face lightened up and he gave him a thumbs-up, thinking that the other was encouraging him for his successful escape. He shot him a smile, signaling that it was okay and he'll be with him in a minute.

His teammate's eyes widened in panic, now practically jumping on his feet as he insistently pointed at him.

Masuko blinked.

Nani—?

All of a sudden, two set of hands clamped on each of his shoulder and Masuko froze, his own eyes widening as he watched his teammate from the other side palming his face dismally.

Oh no.

Masuko yelped when both hands tightened around his shoulder threateningly and he was suddenly yanked back so fast he nearly fell on his ass. His throat turned dry when looked up and saw Jun and Tetsu looming at him, both smiles ominously evil.

"And where do you think you're going huh, Masuko?"

"E-Eh?"

"Baka yaro, we're not finish with you yet." Jun's smile turned sadistic. "You can't escape from us."

"Well, let's just forget about Jun being suspicious for now—" Tetsu ignored Jun's yell of _'Oi!'_ and moved closer to Masuko. " –and tell us what you're hiding, huh, Masuko?"

"N-No, L-Like I said—"

"Huh?! I can't hear you!" Jun exclaimed.

"I-It's nothing, really—"

"Don't you dare lie to us kura or you'll be dead!"

"Masuko—" Tetsu spoke in a deceivingly calm voice and smiled. Masuko had the sudden urge to cover his eyes. He doesn't know why, but he had the feeling he will be screwed more than with his sadistic vice-captain.

Tetsu moved closer to him. "—If you dare lie to me, I'll—" Tetsu moved his lips close to his ears and whispered something. Jun frowned when Masuko's eyes widened in horror and his face turned suddenly pale.

"Well?" Tetsu asked, a small smirk playing on his lips. "What's the girl's name? I won't allow you to have fun while some of us were sweating our ass off and couldn't even go on dates. So who is she Masuko?" Tetsu crossed his arms.

Silence.

"Eh?" Masuko blinked, looking up at Tetsu with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Jun gaped, and everyone who heard sweat dropped.

'Ara. _So that's what he really he wants to know, after all?'_

Jun felt a vein popped on his forehead, his eyes twitching in annoyance. "T-E-T-S-U. What the hell, you bastard! So you were bothered about that too!"

Tetsu gave him a deadpanned look, his voice coming out like he was even baffled Jun was asking such a stupid question. "Obviously. After the amount of time we couldn't spend together, like I would allow anyone doing whatever they want." He huffed. "They need my permission before anyone can go on dates. Hear? PERMISSION."

"H-Huh?!" Jun sputtered. "That doesn't make any sense at all, teme!" He flared, while the others could only shake their heads in bemusement.

Tetsu shrugged, looking nonchalant. "So? What are you really hiding Masuko if it's not a girl? Do you have love problems too?"

"N-No, of course not." He sputtered.

His captain raised his brow. "Then, teammates? Did one of the kouhai give you problems?"

Masuko blanched, remembering the scene he witnessed just a while ago. Problem? Oh, yes, but not his.

He paused. Wait, that's true. It's not his problem at all, but that doesn't mean he couldn't help, right? Right! But wait, wait. Then isn't it better if he tells the others about what he had seen earlier? The more who could help, the better!

No, no wait. He couldn't exactly tell them about Sawamura and Miyuki's scene earlier, so he could just tell them what Kuramochi told him. Yes, that's it! No need to make them angry and execute Miyuki! They could just get rid of the cause! That girl—Uh— what's her name again?

Jun strode and stopped beside Tetsu, his arms crossed in warning. "Oi kura, so which is it?"

He looked at the two of them, thoughtful. Help. Their kouhai, especially Sawamura needs help. He couldn't stand seeing the loudmouth pitcher being that desperate again. Masuko nodded to himself, coming to a decision. Yosh! Good job, Masuko! Nice idea!

Masuko motioned them to come close, looking around them acting all sneaky. Everyone exchanged looks of confusion, while some of them shrugged in response. Tanba, who mysteriously turned up again out of nowhere, sided beside them, intrigued. Some of his teammates shot him accusing stares, but he merely shrugged it off.

"Actually…." Masuko started. Everyone circled around him, some puzzled, some secretly eager, some buzzing in excitement for whatever secrets or gossip they may hear.

And then—

—Weeeell…. After hearing Masuko's information, let's just say everyone's expressions changed dramatically. Most of them are that of disbelief, some indignant, some vindictive and well, some terrified of Jun's sudden burst of evil cackling.

Masuko sort of regret it later that he ever said anything at all.

...

_Krrrrnnnnggg…! Krrrrngggg….!_

"Ugh…"

"N-Nani…?"

_Krrrrrnnggg….._

"Ugh… Hey… Miyuki…"

"Senpai…"

"Off… turn that off…

"Senpai…. hey…"

"H-Huh?" Miyuki jolted from his bed and groaned in protest as he realized what had had disturbed his sleep. Yawning, he grabbed his phone under his pillow and turned his alarm off, all the while fighting his senses from going back to sleep. He flipped his phone open, confirming the time.

Five in the morning. Ughhh….

It can't be helped. Better do it earlier than later on. He couldn't exactly say it aloud with a lot of his teammates present during morning practice, especially with his senpais. This'll be the only time he could grovel on his knees without anyone's looking and his pride still remained intact. Or at least he hoped. Miyuki sighed dejectedly.

Stretching both his arms over his head, Miyuki moved out of his bed, looking for his jacket to fight off the cold and at the same time rehearsing inside his head what he should say; any words that could probably alleviate the anger and disappointment he knew he had to face later on. His explanation needs to be perfect or, God help him, there'll be hell to pay.

One of his roommates, his senpai, looked from the other side of the room with bleary eyes, looking like half of his consciousness was still happily traipsing all over his dreams, his drool coming out sleepily from the corner of his mouth. He blinked, also fighting to stay awake.

"E-Eh? N-Nani? W-Where are you going Miyuki? What time is it?" He yawned, fighting his eyes from closing itself.

"It's still 5 o'clock, senpai. You can still go back to sleep." He replied, tying the lace of his shoes.

"Hmm… I see… five o'clock… huh…"

Pause.

…..Five o'clock?

Huh? Huh?

'_**HUUUUHHHH?!'**_

Suddenly, his senpai jerked from his bed, eyes wide in disbelief. Gawking at his kouhai, he stammered as he shot him incredulous look. "F-f-fi-fi—five o'clock! It's still five o'clock?! Are you fucking kidding me?! Then what the hell are you doing out of your bed?!"

"I'm going out. Got something to do." Miyuki said simply.

His senpai blanched, looking stricken. Oi, oi, oi, oi. What the hell—! What is this? End of the world? Is it end of the world? Miyuki's awake at five o'clock in the morning! He can feel his head spinning.

'_Oh God, didn't see that coming. What an unexpected ending. I hadn't been able to call back at home at all! So fast! Not even a girlfriend to brag about in afterlife!'_

He clutched his heart dramatically, stunned. "W-What a tragic short life."

"Senpai…. you're loud. Stop being an overdramatic idiot and go back to sleep." Their other kouhai, a first-year, mumbled to his pillow and was back asleep within seconds, snoring loudly.

Despite himself, Miyuki sniggered as he stood and walked towards the door. "I'll be going then."

"Oi, kura Miyuki! No, wait— are you really Miyuki?! You're possessed! Pray before you go—!"

Miyuki slammed the door shut before he could hear the rest of his senpai's outlandish words, shaking his head in amusement. He was greeted with a cold breeze, the smell of grass wafted past to where he stood. Suppressing a shiver, Miyuki stretched a little and started to jog sluggishly towards the second field, glancing about to make sure no one was already awake hanging around beside him. Miyuki smiled; satisfied that he didn't see anyone.

As he was nearing his destination, his smile softened when he saw the purpose of his early day. There he is, his figure crouching on the ground as he stretched. Miyuki walked towards him quietly, trying not to gain his attention.

Moving stealthily behind him, Miyuki sneaked close, snickering in silent as he listen to the other's muttering obscenities under his breath, grumbling his protest about Furuya stealing his tire yet again.

_Ah geez, he's pouting. _

Miyuki felt his heart skipped a bit, his breath clamping up on his chest. _'He's just too cute.'_

Miyuki smirked. Well, that won't do. Sawamura's not allowed to pout about another man or any other man for whatever reason.

'_This deserves a punishment.' _His smirked turned devilish after an idea came to him, chuckling silently just imagining the other's reaction. Moving as silent as he could, Miyuki crept close, just a little bit closer, a bit more close… and then—

He pounced, tackling the unsuspecting pitcher to the ground. "Wah!"

"GYAAAAAAHHH!" Sawamura shrieked; His eyes wide in terror and his face white ashen, extremely shocked. The sight made Miyuki laughed out loud, slumping over his pitcher as he struggle breathing between his laughter.

That reaction was just superb, although Sawamura's loud yell almost rendered him deaf.

"Shhh…! You're loud." Miyuki shushed in his chuckles, using one of his hands to cover Sawamura's mouth while the other nursed one of his abused ears. Sheesh, that shout could probably wake the dead and unfortunately, including their still sleeping teammates.

Sawamura struggled from his hold, wrenching the hand away from his mouth. "Wh—?! Miyuki?! Teme! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm just playing around. And lower your voice, oi!" He looked around, confirming that they were still alone.

"Playing around? That's not playing around, you bastard! Are you trying to kill me?!" Sawamura pulled his body away from the other, but Miyuki's hold merely tightened around him. "Let go!"

"That should be my line. Are you trying to kill me from that shout just now?"

"Whose fault do you think was that?!" He hissed, minding the volume of his voice despite himself.

Miyuki merely gave him an annoying grin. Sawamura felt a vein popped on his forehead. Looking down at the arms circling around him tightly, Sawamura tried to ignore the sudden racing of his heart and desperately kicked his foot from the ground, trying to use the momentum to escape. The catcher didn't even bulge from his position and Sawamura nearly gaped in disbelief. Was Miyuki really that strong?

Miyuki smirked from his futile attempts. "Just give up. I'm not letting you go."

"Miyuki!"

"Fu,fu,fu." Miyuki tightened his clasp around his waist and pulled the pitcher close to his chest, almost to his lap, and smiling lightly when he saw Sawamura flushed from the intimate gesture, his resistance lessening a bit.

"O-oi, what are you doing?" He stammered.

"Hm? Snuggling?" Miyuki emphasized his words by hugging Sawamura tighter, his one hand rubbing the other in content circling motions.

"Wha—? Let go!" Sawamura's blush deepened, looking around them nervously in case someone saw them in their current position, all the while trying desperately not to react from the tingling sensation caused by Miyuki's hand on his skin.

Miyuki laid his head on Sawamura's shoulder, looking up at the other with a raised brow, eying him slyly. "Why?"

"W-Why? Because it's embarrassing, stupid! Someone might see us, you know!"

"Hmmm…" Miyuki hummed, burying his face at the crook of Sawamura's neck, inhaling his intoxicating scent contentedly. "Everyone's still asleep." He mumbled.

Sawamura could feel the heat from Miyuki's breath fanning over his neck, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine. He bit his lower lip nervously, his heart pounding loudly on his ears and the heat radiating from Miyuki's solid presence at his back raced throughout his body, pooling up to his cheeks. Sawamura swore if he blushed more than he already was, he'll melt in a pile of goo.

"O-Oi, Miyuki." He called in a tentative voice, although he wasn't sure if he was hesitant from Miyuki's actions or from the thought of stopping what the other were doing. The catcher acted like he didn't hear anything at all and simply snuggled close.

If Sawamura thought the situation couldn't get any worse, Miyuki slid one of his hands to his cheek and tugged gently, the side of his face now pressing at Miyuki's. Sawamura felt like he was burning from all over. Miyuki's breathe felt like furnace on his skin.

Hot. Miyuki feels so hot.

"T-Teme…" He fidgeted. "…Y-Your getting—"

"Getting what?" Miyuki whispered. He smirked gently as he watched Sawamura's flustered stuttering. Miyuki snickered and the other glared back, face still flushing red.

"I—uh— y-you're too close. M-Move away a little."

"Don't want to."

"You—!"

"It's because you're acting so cute that I want to stay like this with you. I couldn't possibly let go, could I?" Miyuki squeezed him tighter, grinning. "Let's stay like this for a while, na?" He whispered huskily, bumping his nose close at the back of his ear. This time, Sawamura's blushed could be considered an alert level five burning. Miyuki could practically feel the heat radiating from the other.

"Wh—! Y-You— H-How could you say something so embarrassing!" Sawamura hid his face on his hands, feeling like he was going dizzy (or _crazy) _from the teasing. This bastard! That's not fair! Miyuki's been always a shameless bastard, but how could he say something like that with such a straight face?

_Ahhhh! I'm burning! I'm burning! Water please!_

Sawamura moved his face away from Miyuki, trying desperately not to show him his embarrassment, and unintentionally—

— his nape was now suddenly fully exposed for Miyuki's eyes. Sawamura's sweaty, scrumptious nape.

Miyuki froze.

White. So smooth. So supple. So…so… beautiful. His mouth went dry as he watched a bead of sweat rolled along Sawamura's nape down to his back, sending his imagination in haywire as he tried to picture the sweat rolling down to different places of his pitcher's body. Miyuki inhaled sharply and couldn't take his eyes away from the delectable sight. Suddenly, he felt a different kind of burning of his own.

Ah, shit.

Miyuki slumped over Sawamura, pressing his forehead on his shoulder in his attempt to hide his own flushing face. "Geez, how can you be so unguarded, you adorable idiot." He muttered under his breath, squeezing Sawamura's body closer. "You're really trying to kill me, aren't you?"

Sawamura blinked back at him, confused as he finally able to come out of hiding his face behind his hands. "Huh?"

Miyuki didn't utter another word. Acting out on pure impulse, Miyuki tugged Sawamura's head on the other side, exposing his neck further to his gaze. He ignored his pitcher yelped of surprise and pounced, sucking on the white skin eagerly, enthusiastically.

Sawamura froze, his eyes widening, and his body was suddenly assaulted of different sensations all at once. What the—?!

"M-Miyu—! Ah!" He bit his lower lip shut, stifling a whine that nearly came out. Shit! He felt a shudder rocked his body as Miyuki sucked a bit deeper, stronger. "B-Baka! Stop!"

The catcher acted like he didn't hear anything. Sawamura tried to push him away, trying to ignore the tingling sensation racing on his veins, but Miyuki merely sucked more.

"Miyuki—!"

Miyuki suddenly pulled back from his 'entertaining' activity and licked his lips, smirking in satisfaction as he watched the mark he left starting to show itself.

"Good."

"Teme! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sawamura glared, wriggling in his position and panting slightly from the surge of heat still engulfing his body. His face flushed red.

Miyuki narrowed his eyes as he watched Sawamura's flustered expression, an irritated small vein popping on his forehead. What's with that luscious look? _If he'd ever show that kind of face to anyone else, I'll—! Ah geez!_ "That's a punishment for being so clueless." He hissed.

"Huuuhh?!"

"Stop showing that kind of face, will you?" Miyuki muttered under his breath.

Sawamura scowled, trying to will his body to calm down. _What is he talking about?_ Punishment? Clueless? This bastard—! Doing something so- so—ugh—so unthinkable—so—

How could he do something like that?! Sawamura could still feel the eerily combination of pain and softness caused by Miyuki's lips on his nape. Oh god. Miyuki's lips. He smoothed it with his fingers, trying to trace the mark he knew was quite visible to everyone who knew what they were looking at. _Kuso_, it's a—a—

'_It's a kiss mark.'_

"MI-YU-KI…" He growled. Sawamura struggled from Miyuki's embrace. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Hai, hai."

"Teme—!"

"Ah. And it's a punishment for yesterday as well." Miyuki huffed, his hands snaking on his waist a bit tighter to still the other's squirming. "Remember?"

"I don't care what you're saying; I'm still going to kill you!"

"Heee… So you forgot about yesterday huh?" The catcher narrowed his eyes.

"Huuh?! Yesterday was—"

Sawamura halted in his struggles, suddenly a bit apprehensive. Ah, shit. He totally forgot about that. That's right; Miyuki said yesterday that they will talk again. And honestly, he was a bit jumpy last night during dinner in case Miyuki suddenly brought out the subject. Fortunately, the catcher didn't even pry further, so Sawamura really thought he had already forgotten about it.

But it's not like he had any intention to tell him about what happened yesterday, right? Miyuki didn't need to know about him _meeting_ her yesterday. It hurts, but Sawamura already decided that he will wait for Miyuki to explain everything to him.

But that doesn't deserve any punishment at all! They're both the same. Sawamura is keeping secrets, but so does Miyuki! The nerve of this bastard—! As he thought, he's really going to kill him—!

"Mah, Well, I think I deserve some punishment as well." Miyuki send him a small smile, his eyes dulling a bit and his embrace slacking a little.

Sawamura frowned, his anger temporarily forgotten. Miyuki's moods are bouncing all over the place. He sighed, shifting from Miyuki's hold a bit and turning from the embrace to look up at the other. "What are you talking about this time?"

If Sawamura knew any better, he could have swear Miyuki looked a bit guilty a he shifted uncertainly from his position, pushing his glasses uncomfortably as he looked sideways, not meeting his eyes. Sawamura suddenly felt uneasy, feeling an impending bad news heading his way.

"Well—uhh—" Miyuki coughed to clear his throat. Shit, this is really hard. He didn't want to see the disappointment on his pitcher's face. And to make it worse, he was the one who invited Sawamura in the first place. It's like he was doing something really terrible to their already delicate relationship.

He'd been trying to find a solution about it last night, even thinking of letting Chris-senpai go to watch the match alone. But he couldn't possibly do that right? Not only will he disappoint Chris-senpai, his Coach would probably hang him upside-down, grilled him and sautéed him with Jun-senpai's lectures and Tetsu-san's burning aura. Just the thought sent shivers over his spine. Although he didn't know what he was more wary of at the moment, their wrath or Sawamura disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Sawamura but— we need to cancel our date this Sunday." He mumbled, totally uneasy. He cursed in silent as he felt the first-year stiffened in his hold. Miyuki waited his reaction in bated breath, readying himself from any tantrums the first-year may subject him to and of course, how to grovel in earnest that when Sawamura spoke in quite a voice, Miyuki almost didn't hear.

"Why?" Sawamura asked silently, hesitatingly. "Did—did you already change your mind?"

If he wasn't clinging close to Sawamura, Miyuki wouldn't have been able to hear the hint of worry in his voice. Miyuki felt like smacking himself from being an idiot. Delicate relationship, geez. Kindly explain?

"Of course not! Is that what you really think of me? Are you an **idiot?!**" He gritted out, feeling a slight betrayed from Sawamura's doubt.

This time, the first-year turned rigid, and Miyuki realized what he had said. Ah shit. His stupid mouth. Forget about smacking himself, he should just bury himself alive from being stupid. He's the one at fault here; he should just shut his mouth and grovel for all his worth.

"Excuse me?" Sawamura bit out and glared, his eyes blazing. "What did you say?"

"No, I mean—"

The first-year wretched himself away harshly from Miyuki grasp, making the other felt bereft in the process, and stood facing the catcher from the ground, his body's trembling in fury.

"You— You—I'm just asking why—I—" Sawamura couldn't find the words to express what he's feeling at the moment. He was just asking! And yes he was feeling doubtful! But not because he didn't trust him. He was just thinking that he was probably in Miyuki's way. That's all!

Sawamura felt the need to punch something really hard and he shot the other a fierce glare. A really_, really_ fierce glare. Miyuki flinched.

"No, wait—"

"You—you— Grrrrrrr... Just DIE!" And Sawamura proceeded to stormed away from the field, boiling in anger.

"Hey, Sawamura—!" Miyuki called out, but the pitcher merely sprinted away, leaving him in morning dust.

"Wha—" Miyuki watched Sawamura's figure running out of sight and he let out a resign sigh. Sagging back on the ground, Miyuki covered his face in frustration and inwardly cursed, berating himself.

"Che. Aren't you the one being an idiot here? You big idiot."

…

Needless to say, everyone noticed the two of them acting strange the entire morning practice. Miyuki keeps on following around Sawamura, trying to coax the other into conversations, using any existing charm and exaggerated praises he could think of that a lot of his teammates started to feel sorry for him, sending him pitiful looks. Naturally, those looks were answered with death glares from Miyuki, making most of his teammates cower from where they stood.

But the entertainment didn't end there, of course.

They had to give it to Sawamura. They don't know if the first-year was starting to get immune from Miyuki's irresistible persuading charm, or if he was just really too aggravated this time, but any attempts coming from the catcher were blown away by a simple glare, making the other senpais' silently cheer for him. Every time Miyuki comes near the first-year, Sawamura either acted like he was going to blow up from the burning aura emitting from his body, or he acted like he couldn't see or hear anyone talking to him, nonchalantly evading and ignoring Miyuki's entire existence. Jun felt like pumping his fist from watching the scene with mocking glee.

Not everyone were amused with the 'Lover's Quarrel', though. Zono nearly exploded in rage when he innocently tapped Sawamura on his shoulder to inform him about their field practice, and the first-year growled back at him fiercely, mistaking him for Miyuki. Thank goodness someone in their right mind restrained their second-year teammate, or there will be bloodied bodies loitering around on their midst. Well, at this rate of increasingly tense atmosphere between Sawamura and Miyuki, bloodied bodies are the least thing they had to worry about. They just hope one of the bodies belonged to Miyuki, or else they wouldn't be able to rest in peace.

Coach Kataoka isn't happy either. Each time he looked at the bullpen where Miyuki and the others were supposed to be, he would found it empty, the other catchers and pitchers' nowhere in sight. Most of them were trying to avoid any looming disaster they could feel coming from the two quarrelling idiots, while some of them are secretly watching the spectacle in amusement. Unfortunately for Sawamura (and Coach Kataoka), Chris is one of them.

"Just what the hell happened with those two?" Jun frowned, watching Miyuki trying yet again to approach the first-year. Sawamura and Furuya are in a middle of their field practice and Zono is now watching the approaching catcher with a glower, acting like he was going to spit out fire towards Miyuki any minute now. Zono knows that the other was intending to disturb them again and he glared when Miyuki gave him an irritating smirk. Jun tried to stifle a grin from watching the scene.

"Miyuki-chan has a death wish, hasn't he?" Ryosuke smirked.

Jun grabbed Masuko from behind, strangling the third-baseman with his arm. "Oi, kura Masuko! What happened with those two, huh?! You know something don't you?!"

The other choked from tight hold over his neck, tapping Jun arm away in alarm. "I-I don't know! I already told you everything I know yesterday!" He lied. He gasped when the arm tightened around him.

"Really?!"

He nodded fervently. "Really! Really!"

"Then, it must because of it right? About that girl." Tanba wondered.

Tetsu frowned. From what they heard from Masuko, they found out that Sawamura already met the 'mysterious' girl yesterday, and he was greatly upset about it. Tetsu didn't know how upset the first-year was and didn't even bother to ask questions about it, but from watching the two interact during dinner last night, he was pretty sure Miyuki already talked about it with Sawamura, or at least reassured him about his real relationship with the girl. It was the main reason why they were both subdued last night, and Miyuki being extra attentive too.

Although Tetsu didn't voice it out loud, he knew Sawamura wasn't simply upset with his meeting with _her_; the pitcher was _extremely_ upset and greatly feeling insecure about it that Masuko deemed to omit that information from them. It's just that Tetsu wasn't that easily fooled. And based on Chris' reaction last night when they informed him about it, the other catcher wasn't either.

Tetsu shook his head, tuning back in conversation and spoke. "Although they were acting strange last night, it wasn't this bad. How should I say this? Last night was a bit awkward, but they were still talking normally with each other. But now…" He looked at his two kouhai, Miyuki looking like a puppy siding beside his owner while Sawamura was still oblivious to his presence, preoccupied with his own practice.

"Now… the way I see it… I guess it's just a normal fight. Miyuki's trying to woo him back and Sawamura was just simply _sulking_ in love. Huh? No, is it called _pouting_ in love?" He tilted his head and nodded in conclusion; acting like he didn't just say something so incredulous.

Everyone paused and turned to gape back at him in astonishment, while Chris and Ryosuke almost choke in their attempt to hide their snicker.

"Huh?" Jun blinked back at him, dumbfounded, and then he doubled-over laughing, clutching his sides with hilarity. "Oh God, you didn't just say that Tetsu! That was fucking funny! Teme, and you were so serious!" he snickered, slumping over his captain's body in an attempt to control his amusement.

Some of the third years sniggered under their breaths, not from Tetsu's comment though, but from Jun's look of comic disbelief.

Chris tried to clear his throat as he spoke, keeping his own grin under control. "No. Although I won't say it the way Tetsu did, I think he's right." He said, a smile still lingering on his lips. "It's probably nothing too serious. It was just probably one of Miyuki's _**idiotic**_moments."

_(Ha-ha. Bingo!)_

"Ah." Tetsu nodded, circling an arm around Jun's waist and steadying him on his feet. "He probably said something like _**'are you an idiot?'**_ that made Sawamura really annoyed. Nothing we can about that."

_(Ha-ha-ha. Double Bingo!) _

Jun scratched his beard and grunted in agreement, finally a tad calm from his laughter. "Well, I did warn him about that _**stupid, arrogant mouth **_of his before. 'Guess still a bit too hard for that bastard to control."

_(Triple Bingo!)_ As expected of senpais. Three list of accurate bull's eyes'.

The third years were suddenly interrupted from their conversation when a loud voice boomed around them, making them jump and snap their heads towards the commotion.

"Kura, Miyuki! Stop wasting your time around here and do you own practice somewhere else, _bakayaro_!" Zono finally exploded. Everyone was startled from his sudden yell, including the loud-mouth pitcher who was still unaware of the catcher dallying behind him.

"What are you talking about? I'm just here to watch them practice. I'm not doing anything. Na?" He winked towards Sawamura.

Sawamura's face immediately turned sour. Turning away from the catcher, he grabbed Furuya's arm rather forcefully beside him and pointed towards the running area, acting like he saw something so worth-looking.

"Are-re-re… Look, look, _Furuya-kun~…_ Harucchi's running over there. Why don't we join him? You'd like to run too, right?" Sawamura smiled at the other pitcher sweetly, pulling the somewhat stupefied Furuya away from the field, and trying (not so subtly) to distance himself from his _'stalker'_.

Miyuki started to utter a protest, which was drown out by Zono's another yell of complaint.

Furuya, on the other hand, abruptly stopped dead on his track and stared at his rival, his nonchalant mask slipping a bit from hearing Sawamura adding -_kun_ to his name. His sudden pause made the other pitcher looked back at him.

Sawamura raised his brow. "N-Nani?" he asked, pulling on the other pitcher's arm insistently.

Looking stricken despite his deadpanned expression, Furuya spoke blankly. "You said Furuya-_kun_."

Sawamura blinked. "E-Eh? Well, yeah, I did, I guess. So?"

Silence.

"G-Gross." Furuya suddenly hugged himself, exaggerating a shudder. "T-That's c-creepy."

"Are you trying to piss me off?!"

"I'm begging you. Just call me Furuya. Just Furuya is fine. Or you can call me _bastard _if you prefer. I prefer it myself."

"Is that supposed to be funny?! It's not funny! I'm not laughing here!"

"Well, I'm not laughing either."

"You bast—!" Sawamura could feel his boy trembling in annoyance and he was starting to feel a headache developing between his eyes. Everyone was really aiming to piss him off today. Sawamura was so ready to throttle his friend just to vent out his increasing frustrations.

He was brought back from his irritated musing when he heard Furuya's voice calling out.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go already." Furuya called out. Sawamura glowered when he realized he was actually left behind and Furuya was already a few meters away walking towards their pink-haired friend, leaving him with his grumbles.

"I'm going to rip you eyebrows off, cook them and feed them to that stupid catcher if I ever get a hold of you, Furuya teme!" He exploded.

"Haaa… Scary, scary." Furuya answered back.

The third-years sweat dropped watching their two kouhai bickered as they walked, (Although it was only Sawamura's one-sided argument) and turned to look at Miyuki who is now being scolded by Rei-chan. Jun snickered when the catcher was pulled along by their _assistant coach_ towards the office, probably about to be scolded by their Coach as well.

"Those brats are so troublesome." He shook his head.

"Kyahaha! Too bad. I only saw the last part of the show." Someone unexpectedly spoke behind them. They turned and found their shortstop heading their way. Ryosuke immediately smiled from the sight.

"You… you really enjoyed sneaking here, aren't you? Coach will scold you again."

Kuramochi simply grinned and it was Tetsu's turn to shake his head in resignation. Some of the other third-years asked the shortstop about his health while the others asked him why he was there.

"Ah, well, becau—" Kuramochi started to say.

Ryosuke interjected at once.

"It's because he wanted to see me so much, ne, _You-chan~?_" Ryosuke regarded him with a sly smile, making the shortstop remembered what happened yesterday. Kuramochi flushed red, while the others looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Hoho… is that so?" Jun asked, leering.

"Of course. You-chan's feelings and mine connected and became one yesterday. We became _extremely _close. I'm sure You-chan wouldn't forget about it too for a long time, right? I was worried I pushed your delicate body so hard yesterday." Ryosuke's smile turned devilish, amusement dancing behind his eyes. Kuramochi, however, felt his world started spinning out of control and he stammered in incredulity.

'_What is he talking about?!'_

Well, he did come because he wants to see Ryo-san _so much._ But he didn't need to announce what happened yesterday for all their teammates to hear!

Their teammates' reactions, though, were immediate. Tetsu lifted a contemplating brow, Chris gave a knowing smile, Tanba flushed, Masuko blinked in confusion, while Jun and the others nearly choked from the sudden burst of _x-rated_ images assaulting their minds. Kuramochi wished there was a really big hole on the ground willing to eat him up at this very moment or he might just dig one himself just to bury his embarrassment.

"R-Ryo-san!" He protested indignantly, feeling hot all over.

"Y-You—you two—don't tell me—!" Jun stammered, looking at him in complete disbelief.

"No!" His hands flapped with alarmed denials.

Tanba, in contrast, looked scandalized. "K-Kuramochi! T-That's not something you should be doing right now! Y-You're still y-young!" Tanba screeched, sounding like he was on a verge of hyperventilating.

"Tanba-san…" Kuramochi sweat dropped and the others shook their heads at Tanba's _virgin-like_ reaction.

Chris moved beside the third-year pitcher and rubbed soothing circles at his back, trying to calm him down. Chris moved his face close to the other's ear and whispered something, making Tanba shut his mouth and blushed so red all of them thought he was going to combust.

'_Nani? Nani?! What did he tell him?! I really want to know!' _Everyone sweat dropped.

Ryosuke chuckled as he stood beside his shortstop, grabbing the other close. "Mah. Mah. I was just joking. Everyone's being exaggerated. Geez."

Masuko blinked. "Really?"

Ryosuke only smiled, hugging his shortstop closer still. Kuramochi could only sigh dejectedly, looking sideways to hide his still flushing face.

Jun let out a sigh of relief. The others following suit, including Tanba.

X-rated images are scary.

"Anyway, what brought you here, Kuramochi?"

The shortstop cleared his throat, willing his flustered face to subside. "Masuko-senpai told me that he informed you about what happened yesterday."

Chris nodded in affirmation. "He did."

Kuramochi scratched his head. "Well, I was just wondering what do you plan to do about it?"

Chris shrugged, looking at his other teammates. "I honestly had no plans to do anything about it myself. I prefer them to do things their own way. Although if you had any plans, I won't say anything if it's good."

"It's not like it's a big deal." Jun piped in. "It's just a simple plan, really. Nothing too special."

Moving close to his senpai, Kuramochi bounced eagerly. "So what is it then?"

Jun smirked, looking proud. "Easy. Don't let the _threat _met her _target_. At least not until the _target_ formed a strong relationship with his _own_ target. Kekeke. Simple, right? It's not so hard to do!" He boasted.

Most of his teammates snickered at Jun's pompous attitude, while Tetsu and Chris simply smiled fondly.

"You just couldn't think of anything complicated. I should have known. Mah, well done, well done, I guess." Ryosuke muttered in sing song.

"What was that?!"

"Heeeh…" Kuramochi nodded to himself, thoughtful. Despite the simplicity, if could be effective.

That's true. Things between Miyuki and Sawamura will progress smoothly if Arashi-san presence ceased to be a threat for Sawamura. But for this plan to succeed, everyone needs to help. They couldn't let her to come close to those two.

Well, what about putting the other kouhai in it too? Like Haruichi and Kanemaru? They're the ones who are always around that idiot. They can just grab him away like Haruichi did yesterday. Kuramochi isn't sure about Furuya. There are times he was more thickheaded and denser than Sawamura, although there are also times that he was extremely sharp to read situations too. _Mah, better than nothing, I guess._

Kuramochi was about to open his mouth and utter out his own suggestion when a loud voice calling out to them interrupted him. He turned and found Kanemaru running towards them. The third-years immediately shut their mouths, not wanting the first-year to hear anything important they're talking about (which is nothing worth-mentioning, really).

"Senpai!" Panting, the freshman stopped before Tetsu.

"What is it?"

Kanemaru straightened up and scratched his head, hesitating a little. He looked around and sighed in relief when his gaze landed at Sawamura, who is now talking animatedly with his two friends. "Well…"

"Is Coach looking for me?" Tetsu asked.

"Er—no."

Chris lifted his brow, remembering that Coach Kataoka asked him to go to the office after practice. Did the time change? "Is it about the meeting at the office? Am I the one being called?" he asked.

"Uh—not you, senpai."

"Huh? Then what is it?"

The first-year fidgeted. "Er—the—someone—"

Jun rolled his eyes impatiently. "Stop dallying and tell us what it is already! Or d'you like to find yourself running with Sawamura until this afternoon's practice, huh, kura?"

Kanemaru immediately flails his arm in panic, dreading the idea of spending any more time with their loud-mouth pitcher than he was already subjected to. "Hiiiiiiiiiii! No, no! Anything but that, senpai! It's just that— t-there's a girl there at the entrance! She said she was looking for Miyuki-senpai! I-I thought I should let you know before—! Geh! Senpais, your faces are scary!"

Everyone froze, their aura bursting all over the place.

_Don't tell me—!_

They all exchanged dumfounded looks, momentarily forgetting the first-year in their midst.

Chris was the first to recover. "That's—troubling, huh?"

All of them exchanged blanks looks.

"The plan—" Kuramochi started, trying to remind the others about it.

Their eyes widened and immediately, they created a circle, huddling close together like mothers of preschoolers in the middle of their gossip entertainment. Kanemaru could only blink with perplexity as they absentmindedly pulled him to their circle as well, watching his senpais' faces ranging in different reactions. Jun looked stupefied, Chris thoughtful, Tetsu nonchalant, and Ryosuke acting like he was watching something very interesting for his taste.

Jun fumbled with Tetsu's uniform, pulling on the hem of the shirt restlessly. "Oi! Oi!, Oi! Don't tell me—! Don't tell me— _Don't tell me—!_" He hissed, looking around them like he was expecting their visitor to just appear from thin air.

Oh, shit. Oh, oh, oh, oh shi—t!

"Ahahaha. For real?" Ryosuke smirked in amusement. His face says it all. He was enjoying this situation too much for everyone's peace of mind.

"This is no time for laughing, Ryo!"

"Jun, your over-reacting again. And didn't we expect this to happen?" Tetsu rolled his eyes, pulling the hem of his shirt away from the other's grip.

"Yeah I know! But it's too early! My heart's not ready yet!"

"Your heart has nothing to do with it, ahou. And besides, weren't you the one who came up with a plan? We'll just have to do it. Geez, who was the one acting so excited about it from the very beginning?"

"Yeah, well, why don't _you_ do it then if it's _so_ simple, huh, teme?"

Tetsu let out a sigh. Some of his teammates sweat dropped listening to their exchange, while the others stifled a grin. No one dared to correct their vice-captain that it was him who even gloated about the plan being so simple in the first place.

"Look—" Kuramochi tried to calm his senpai, his lips twitching in his attempt not to let out a snicker and trying to ignore Ryo-san giggling silently beside him. "It's not really that hard, ne, Jun-san? As you said, it's not exactly a complicated plan. We'll just have to send her away."

Jun narrowed his eyes. "Then, _you_ do it. Make her go away."

"Ehhhh?"

"Got a problem with that? I'm your senpai. You listen to me. Go." He gave him a thumbs-up.

"Err… Don't want to… I don't like to meet her again…."

"Huuuuh—? Ah! That's right!" Jun exclaimed excitedly, coming into a realization. "You already met her yesterday! Ja, you're the perfect person to carry out the 'Get-rid-of-her- and-take-her-away-from-here-plan! Yosh—" Jun cuffed him over the back of his neck, wretched him away from Ryosuke's grasp, (which made the second-baseman extremely put off, by the way) and pushed Kuramochi out of their little cluster, shooing him away towards the entrance. "—Go, Kuramochi! We're counting on you!"

"Oi… oi…" Kuramochi sweat dropped. "I don't' want to, senpai! I'm no good talking to her!" He whined.

"I'm your vice-captain, I'm ordering you. Go!"

Ryosuke interfered, grabbing one of Kuramochi's arms back and hugging him close. He fixed Jun with a smothering glare, eyes fierce. "No one gets to order You-chan when I'm around. Find someone else." He narrowed his eyes threateningly, the amused expression earlier now completely gone.

Everyone shivered.

Jun coughed to clear his suddenly dry throat. "B-But who else is available?! He was the only one who met her before!" He complained in a whiny voice too. (Yes, yes. Such a bunch of macho baseball players. Geez.)

"As I thought, it should be Jun-chan, right?" Masuko urged, partially hiding his body behind Chris in case he was chosen for the job.

"Kura, Masuko!"

"Hey…" Tanba suddenly spoke, and they shifted their attentions towards him. "Isn't it only logical that the person she asked to get Miyuki will also be the one to make her leave? It'll be less suspicious that way."

Everyone gave him a blank stare. The person…..she asked….?

Huh?

Ahhhh… That's… true…

Uh—

Silence...

"Eh?" Kanemaru blinked back blankly when everyone slowly turned to look at him. "E-Eh?"

Everyone just stared.

Kanemaru face suddenly turned pale, his eyes widening in alarm. "E-Ehhhhhhhh?! Me?!"

Everyone nodded and simultaneously gave him a thumbs-up. Kanemaru shook his head fervently. "I-I refuse!"

"Hoooo... Why didn't I think of it before? Yes, yes. Of course. So true. So very true." Jun smiled evilly. "Yosh, yosh… that's a good boy….C'mere." Jun cracked his knuckles, his eyes glinting.

"Senpai!" Kanemaru protested. They're devils!

"Thank you so much for volunteering, Kanemaru." Tetsu smiled innocently.

_Noooooo!_

"Yosh…. Go, Kanemaru! We're counting on you!" Jun grabbed him and pushed him towards the direction of the entrance. "You better do a good job, teme or else…"

"Ehhhhh?! B-But—I'm not—"

"Take care!" Everyone brought out a white handkerchief and waved them off, sending him off happily. _Too _happily in his opinion.

Yeah. Let's just say, during his way back to the field's entrance, Kanemaru swore never to speak to any person looking for any of his senpais ever again.

…..

While the third years and Kuramochi were in a middle of their '_top secret'_ discussion on how to get rid of Miyuki's visitor, Haruichi was stuck with his two friends in their endless bickering. Eijun-kun is still moping when the pink-haired first-year sided with his friend as they ran, Furuya lagging behind them, looking tired from the arguing already.

"Ne, Eijun-kun?" He called softly.

"Hah? Nani?" Sawamura asked, still in a bad mood.

Despite his friend's sour disposition, Haruichi couldn't help but smile. Eijun-kun can be really cute when he's furious. It was probably one of the reasons why some of his teammates, including Miyuki-senpai, always riled him up. His cute expressions were worth watching. Too bad his loud voice couldn't be considered cute in normal standard.

"What did Miyuki-senpai did this time? I thought—" He gave a pause, not sure if he should bring out their meeting with Mika-senpai yesterday, since both of them acted normally last night. "—well, it's not about yesterday, isn't it?"

Sawamura slowed his pace, looking at the other direction in deep thought. He sighed. "No—It's not that. That's— we already talked about that… well, at least a bit."

Haruichi sighed with relief and smiled "Then, I guess, this time it's nothing serious, huh?" He said cheerfully. That smile was wiped out almost instantly when his friend's face suddenly turned dark, his aura now leaking out almost in par with their captain's.

"Hooooo…. Oh yes…. It's nothing. Nothing so important… heeeh… It's not like I'm looking forward about this Sunday ne? It's not like I'm really mad at Miyuki… What are you talking about Harucchi? Mou…" Eijun-kun shot him a twisted smile, his brow twitching with every word.

Haruichi sweat dropped. "No… I'm not talking about anything yet, Eijun-kun. I didn't even mention anything about Miyuki-senpai."

"Ah! That's right! That's right! Ahahaha! It's not like Haruichi knows about it huh? It's not like it was so important that a certain someone could even cancel it because of something more important he has to do. Right…. Of course, of course! I'm not even looking forward to it! Aha… aha… ahahaha…!" At this time, Eijun-kun isn't merely running ahead, he was stomping with his feet so hard Haruichi was pretty sure there are holes left on his wake. Haruichi moved a little away from his friend, afraid that he might get caught with his furious stamping.

One thing he was now sure of, whatever it is that should happen this coming Sunday, Eijun-kun was _really, really _looking forward to it. Very Much.

"Eijun-kun really likes Miyuki-senpai, ne?' He smiled at his friend softly.

Sawamura glared, his feet now digging deeper into the ground. "Who likes that bastard! I didn't say anything about liking anyone!"

"Ehhh? But you were really angry that he cancelled out on you right? I'm not really sure what is it, but Eijun-kun was really looking forward to it right?" Haruichi threw him a knowing smile. The pitcher stuttered indignantly.

"I'm not! I already changed my mind! No one likes anyone now! I'm angry! I won't forgive!"

Haruichi lifted a brow skeptically, his eyes shining with a devilish glint disturbingly close with his big brother's. "Then… you won't ever talk to Miyuki-senpai? Ever again? You're not going to take any desserts he'll give you? _Ever again?_ Or help you fix your form during practice? Or maybe treat you to lunch occasionally? Or _may—be…._ " Haruichi smiled slyly. "—let him catch your pitches, ever, _ever again?_ Na, Eijun-kun?" He grinned, already knowing who the victor is with their conversation.

"U-Ugh … T-That's—" Sawamura hesitated, feeling like he was losing against himself if he ever tried to argue back with those listings of Miyuki-is-with-him-benefits. Grrrrr…..

"T-That's u-unfair, Harucchi!"

Haruichi snickered under his breath. Winner, on the left side—Kuminato Haruichi!

"That smug face seriously pisses me off." Sawamura grumbled in a pout, averting his eyes away when his friend shot him a knowing look. "Ah, yes, yes, okay! I'm not really angry! I'm just—uhm—s-sulking a bit." He mumbled the last word out.

The pink-haired first-year rolled his eyes, a bit exasperated. "_You _are always sulking Eijun-kun. Especially about Miyuki-senpai. "

"Oi! Are you really my friend?!"

"Hai, hai. Eijun-kun can be really so troublesome sometimes, ne."

"Boo, Boo…" Sawamura pouted in response.

"And childish."

"Harucchi! You're really starting to hurt my feelings here!"

"Ahou… ahou… ahou…" Furuya ran passed, comically mimicking a crow with an extremely deadpanned expression on his face.

"This is not an anime, Furuya, teme! Stop listening in someone else's conversation!"

"Ahou… Ahou… Ahou…"

"I'm going to kill him!" Sawamura cursed, his pace quickening up a bit.

Haruichi shook his head as he watched his friends' antics, smiling a little now that Eijun-kun started to return back to his old loud-mouth self. Geez, Miyuki-senpai and Eijun-kun are so troublesome. He couldn't wait to see once those two finally became official. Miyuki-senpai will definitely go bald at this rate. He probably even had to grovel a lot before Eijun-kun forgave him about their wasted plans for this coming Sunday.

Haruichi blinked, slowing his pace a little.

Wait, _this coming_ Sunday?

"Ah—! Ne, Eijun-kun—!" Haruichi called out to his friend. Scowling still, Sawamura shifted his attention back at him with a questioning frown. "— are you talking about the practice match this Sunday? Why, is it cancelled?" He asked innocently as he catch up to his friend.

Sawamura shot him a puzzled look. "Huh?"

Haruichi threw him a puzzled look of his own. "Eh? It's not? I thought you were talking about the practice match this coming Sunday? With Miyuki-senpai and the others?"

Sawamura suddenly stopped dead on his tracks, looking stunned, which in turn made his friend stopped on his run as well.

"Eijun-kun?" Haruichi called out, confused.

Eh? What is Harucchi's talking about? Practice match? There'll be a practice match? Where? When?

Wait, wait, wait! What practice match? No one said anything about any practice match to him! Could it be— is that the reason why Miyuki—?

Ah, shit.

"We—" Sawamura cleared his throat. "— we have a practice match this Sunday?"

"Huh? Ah, no, not us. But I heard Coach gave an order to Miyuki-senpai and Chris-senpai to watch a practice match this coming Sunday. They said one of the teams will be a formidable opponent this summer. Chris-senpai informed Furuya last night, and I was with him so I heard it too. He said the pitchers should come to watch as well. I thought Miyuki–senpai said he'll inform you today. Is it really cancelled? Is that why you're mad with—? E-Eh? Eijun-kun?!" Haruichi instantly rushed at his friend's side in panic, too perplexed when Sawamura suddenly flopped onto the ground, covering his now flushing face. "E-Eijun-kun—? What's wrong?"

Sawamura shook his head, his face still hidden behind his hands and his reddening now reaching up to his ears. "No, no. N-Nothing's wrong. I'm just— Ahhhhh… the hell?"

Haruichi crouched beside his friend, biting his lower lip worriedly. "What happened? Are you hurt? Is it stomachache?"

Sawamura could only shake his head. God. '_It's not because he changed his mind_.'

There was really a reason. Miyuki didn't change his mind.

Ah, geez!

Why? Why didn't he say it earlier? It's not like he wouldn't understand if something like this came up! He's not that selfish!

But, isn't he at fault too? He didn't try to listen to Miyuki's explanation until the end. He was overcome with disappointment and he tried helplessly not to show he was really hurt that their plans were suddenly cancelled. Who's the idiot here, really?

Sawamura blushed, embarrassed with himself. It was just he was really looking forward to it. He really, really wants to go somewhere with just the two of them. So like an idiot that he is, he acted childish, not even bothering to hear him out.

"Ugghh….! I'm the worst." He mumbled, still flushing in shame.

Haruichi watched, confused, as his friend started to mope yet again.

'_What is it this time, Mou…' _

Shaking his head, Haruichi grabbed Eijun-kun's hand and pulled him up, steadying him on his feet when the other nearly stumbled. "Mah, mah. Whatever it is, I'm sure Miyuki-senpai wouldn't mind it one bit. He was trying hard to get you attention just earlier right? C'mon, let's continue with our run and you can think of a way to make it up with him."

Sawamura slumped. _"Demo—"_

"Let go catch up to Furuya-kun." Haruichi urged.

"Hm…" Sawamura started to jog after his friend sluggishly, feeling disheartened with himself. He was about to quickened his pace and followed Harucchi, when someone ran pass at the corner of his eye, gaining his involuntary attention.

Huh? Who—?

Ah… It's Kanemaru.

The other first-year looked as dejected as Sawamura felt while he jogged out of the baseball field.

_What happened to him?_

Sawamura frowned, slowing a little to look at his teammate, and eventually stopping to observe. If he didn't know any better, he'll think Kanemaru is suffering from rheumatism. The way he was dragging his feet towards his destination looks so funny Sawamura was tempted to let out a snigger despite his gloomy mood. Better give Kanemaru an ice pack later this evening just in case. It will compensate for his rude amusement.

Looking back at his teammate, his eyes widened when he saw the other approached someone at the opposite side of the field. He couldn't make out who is it, but he was pretty sure that figure definetly belongs to girl.

Oi, oi. Is that his girlfriend? Impossible. Kanemaru shouldn't look that conflicted if she is.

Confession? Sister? Classmate? Sawamura narrowed his eyes, squinting in an effort to identify her. Who's that—? Looks oddly familiar…

He didn't know why, but his heart started to pound a little faster, and he was now feeling a tad apprehensive.

'_Wh-What is this? What's wrong with me?'_

"Eijun-kun!"

Sawamura nearly jumped and he looked back towards Harucchi, clutching his uniform over his chest as he tried to will his heart to calm down.

"What are you doing, Eijun-kun? You're going to be left behind!"

"A-Ah…"" Sawamura turned to look back at where Kanemaru was. He saw his teammate bowing deeply, repeatedly, probably apologizing. Sawamura couldn't explain why, but he suddenly felt relieve.

"Probably just a confession, huh…." He murmured, feeling the conflicting emotions from earlier ebbing away. He started to jog after his waiting pink-haired friend, gaining more speed.

Obviously, the entire scene he saw now slowly easing out of his mind.

…..

Kanemaru, panting a little from his run, halted before the visitor and bowed, looking completely apologetic. (Although one of the reasons he's bowing so low is to hide his face just in case she may caught him lying.)

"I'm really sorry! Miyuki-senpai is in a middle of a meeting so he couldn't just leave. And he wouldn't be available for the entire morning either."

Mika blinked down at the first-year, her smile slipping a bit. Shifting her gaze towards the practice field in the distance, she took a peek at the ground secretly, her eyes roaming the players she could see.

The second field is closest to where she is now, but the main field is still a distance away. She couldn't even identify any of the players in her line of sight properly even if she squint her eyes, and there are no one in the second field close to her position. Just a few players doing their runs, and they were in the opposite side far from where she stood. She couldn't even tell if one of them is Kazuya. And she was pretty sure he wouldn't just expose himself just like that if what she suspected since yesterday is true.

He's avoiding her.

That bastard is running away.

'_This is not good.'_

Directly visiting the field during practice is out of question. And Mika couldn't risk moving any more closer to the field than she already is at her current position. Any more close and she might meet— What if he—?

Ugh!

She shook her head, pushing those stray thoughts away from her mind. Now's not the time for that. She just needs to talk to Kazuya. And that's what she intends to do.

Looking back at the freshman still bowing his head, Mika sighed, straightening her uniform as she tapped him on his shoulder. She narrowed her eyes when their eyes met. "You're sure Kazuya's at school today? Yesterday, Kuramochi-kun said he went out."

"A-ah, hai…" Kanemaru stammered, feeling slightly intimidated.

"Really. You're not lying aren't you?"

He shook his head fervently.

She smiled sweetly at that, almost too sweet. "Hmmm. I hate liars, you see, eto…ah— Kanemaru-kun, is it?"

"H-hai…"

Mika nodded, her eyes boring into him. "Well, I guess it can't be helped. Arigatou, Kanemaru-kun. Hope to—meet you again soon."

Kanemaru blushed, nodding back. "Ah, H-Hai…" The first-year wanted to smack himself. He was so tongue-tied that he could only respond with short syllables to her questions and statements. And he was stammering, no less! That was just smooth. He reprimanded himself inwardly.

And what does she mean _soon_? Is she really that confident that she'll meet Miyuki-senpai so soon? Jun-senpai sent him here so that won't happen! If the senpais ever found out that he failed and could only come up with 'Hai' as a means of conversation, He'll be dead!

"Ah, ano—!"

"Well then, you should go back to practice, Kanemaru-kun. It's not good if you miss anything important for your training, right?" Mika-senpai threw him a small smile. "Good Luck." She waved at him cheerfully.

Kanemaru didn't know what to do. It's obvious that she just wants him to leave. But could he really do that—? His life's at stake here, you know!

"Don't worry. I'm going to leave once you do. It seems rude to just leave without ensuring that you went back to practice, right?" She tilted her head, acting innocent.

_No, it's not! It's the opposite! It's the opposite, senpai!_

Kanemaru sighed in resignation. Well, he could just watch from afar if she ever did anything suspicious.

"Then—" He bowed, and high-tailed it back to the field.

Mika watched the first-year walking away, her mind deep in thought. She knew he was lying. It was pretty obvious. The question is why.

And the answer? That bastard Kazuya.

So this is how it's going to be, huh.

Looking back at the field one last time, Mika sighed. Guess there's no use staying—

Huh? Aree? Wait—

Mika took a step close and peered closely, looking at one of the players running at the second field. Is that—?

Huh.

It's Eijun-chan.

Oh yeah, he's in first-string too if she remembered correctly, right?

First-string. Like Kazuya. _With_ Kazuya.

Hmmmm…

She smiled. Of course. Yes, yes, of course. There are other ways. More effective ways to meet him…

A more _direct_ way…

….

* * *

**Chapter Eight **_**(Part III):**__**The Dependable**_** (Meddling) **_**Senpais**_

_End of Chapter…_

* * *

A/N: *sighs* Finally! Like, finally! As always, thank you so much for all the comments and reviews, they were all very much appreciated! And I'll be always thankful for all who waited patiently. (Are there any at all?) And yes, I'm not going to say anything anymore. Everyone knows this post's already late… ( T _ T ) *sob* I just hope you enjoyed the 3rd and last part of this chapter… *hic*

Since chapter 8 consisted of 3 parts; prt I, Sawamura met Mika-chan, prt II, Miyuki found out that Sawamura finally met her, and lastly, prt. III, their senpais found out about it and tried to meddle and help; this chapter became too long! I hope I've covered everything important, geez.

So when's the next update?! Kekeke, sooner than you think… *booo… booo* (I'm being serious here, oi!)


	11. Chapter 9

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

Kuminato Haruichi let out an exhausted breath and pushed his damp hair away from his eyes, relishing the cool breeze now touching his face. He could already feel the summer on his skin and he had to admit, the heat were making him and his teammates all sweaty and grouchy.

He ran an arm over his forehead with a sigh, the sweats making him feel sticky all over. Running the course earlier might not have been the best idea to warm-up after all. He was already unusually tired from the heat beating down on him. Adding the uncomfortable sweat only made the high temperature more unbearable. Only Eijun-kun could withstand this temperature without being beaten by the heat, and Haruichi was pretty sure that if summer could only speak, his friend would've challenge the damn thing just to prove it.

Letting out another tired sigh, Haruichi turned and took in the scene before him, his teammates shouting and running, some of them joking around, while the others minding their own business. It was the usual scene.

Haruichi's eyes, however, didn't linger to his teammates much longer. For the umpteenth time that morning, on their own accord, his eyes automatically landed in bullpen.

The place where he has the most interest in.

It didn't take long for the Seido baseball club to settle down from the earlier mayhem with Miyuki-senpai and Eijun-kun. The situation was dealt with effectively (thanks to Coach Kataoka's blazing glares) and morning practice rolled back on its usual madness. Zono-senpai finally had calm down from his rage (at long last), and everyone was back to their own activities.

The senpais' started doing whatever they want and now being their usual old wacky selves. Eijun-kun's back to his own training menu, avoiding a certain megane catcher (and at the same time scolding himself of his own stubbornness). Miyuki-senpai, who was finally freed from his lectures were now discussing something with Chris-senpai and occasionally throwing the pitcher worried looks. Coach Kataoka was being in his usual cranky self, tormenting the second years and first years with rigorous training. And Furuya-kun…

…Furuya-kun's now immersed with his pitching practice with Miyauchi-senpai.

…and Haruichi…

…Haruichi's now engrossed watching him secretly from afar.

….and making his heart raced just a bit faster.

Gripping the bat he's using for practice tightly with both hands, Haruichi yet again couldn't help but be absorbed with his thoughts as he observed his friend, taking in his stance as he was about to throw a pitch.

The scene was simply beautiful for Haruichi.

So beautiful, that sometimes, he felt inferior just watching him like this.

Everything about Furuya-kun took his breath away. The determine glint behind his eyes as he throw a pitch, his lips thinning in a firm line when he concentrate, and his aura oozing out and burning intensely that Haruichi knew could almost melt any opponents' confidence the pitcher faced off regularly.

It was like Furuya-kun was trapped in his own world; playing, fighting, trying to prove himself. His mind's full only of baseball.

Haruichi stared at both his hands, his grip around the bat loosening a bit. What would it felt like to face off Furuya-kun? What would it feel like to have that sole concentration completely directed at him? Will he waver with his bat? Will he lose to the pitcher's resolve just like his other opponents?

For whatever reason, Haruichi knew in his heart he couldn't afford to lose. Not when he wanted those eyes, and his full attention, aimed _only_ at him.

Peering over his shoulder for a hundredth time, Haruichi's heart skipped a beat, his stomach's fluttering in pleasant surprise when he saw the pitcher resting from practice and was now looking at his direction. Haruichi couldn't help but smile, somewhat giddy, and he was about to shot a hand to wave at him when he realized something's odd. Haruichi paused, disheartened.

No. He was wrong.

Furuya-kun was not looking at him.

Haruichi felt his heart sank, and slowly pulled his hand down, feeling slightly embarrassed from the misunderstanding. Furuya-kun's not looking directly at him. Furuya-kun was looking at someone at his back …

… Or more specifically…

… At Eijun-kun.

"As I thought…" Haruichi murmured, a small, conflicted smile gracing his lips. "Furuya-kun's really forcing himself too much earlier." Haruichi covered his face with a slightly quivering hand, letting out an equally shuddering breath. "He should really start thinking about himself sometimes… geez..."

And in that thought… Haruichi felt like his heart is breaking all over again.

He had known about it for some time now. The sneak glimpses, the playful banters, the rivalry. Haruichi knew Furuya-kun couldn't help but be conscious of Eijun-kun each time the other pitcher comes near. Furuya acted differently towards Eijun-kun. Sometimes harsh, sometimes uncomfortable, and sometimes, it felt like the two of them were on the world of their own no one can't get into.

No one else could see it, because his two friends refused to believe in it as well.

But Haruichi knew, because he was always there as well, watching, observing, and he always felt Furuya stiffening and looking a bit uneasy each time Eijun-kun appeared. Haruichi knew… and he realized Furuya's feelings a bit too late.

Furuya-kun _likes_ Eijun-kun.

It's easy enough to see once you think about it and knew where to look. It may looked like both of them doesn't get along with each other, but Haruichi knew better. Furuya-kun and Eijun-kun understand each other well. And in a certain bitter level, they got along well with each other that sometimes; Haruichi felt he was being left out.

If he tried to put a depiction of it, it's like the way Miyuki-senpai and Kuramochi-senpai acted towards each other. Most of the time, they hated each other guts, and yet, there is a certain amount of respect and acknowledgement of each other's strength. They understand what the other possesses, and in return, they compensate of what they see as their weaknesses. That's why they couldn't help but become drawn to each other as well, no matter how platonic it is for Eijun-kun's case.

Haruichi didn't know when Furuya-kun started liking their other friend. Maybe since from the start, or maybe since the talk of Miyuki-senpai and Eijun-kun liking each other came up. But Haruichi always saw the signs of it. Some of them a simple show of support, like when Eijun-kun's been feeling out of sorts and Furuya-kun's siding silently beside him like it was a no big deal and he just happened to be there. The signs were always there. So plain to see from where Haruichi was looking.

But Haruichi wished he hadn't seen anything at all.

Because… what he realize after turned his world upside down.

When he realized that Furuya-kun maybe harboring a feeling for Eijun-kun, Haruichi felt like a dead weight settled on his stomach, and a swirling of emotions churned in his chest; a tightness inside of him that he felt he couldn't breathe through.

Haruichi felt like he was drowning.

…and that's when he realized it too.

He became conscious of Furuya-kun's feeling towards Eijun-kun, because he'd been observing Furuya-kun as well. Haruichi's awareness of him wasn't a simple case of supporting a friend secretly.

It was a case of being obsessed with another person.

Eijun-kun isn't just Furuya-kun's rival. He was Haruichi's as well.

Because…

Haruichi _likes_ Furuya-kun. So much.

And that's why it hurts. Because honestly, Haruichi already felt defeated right from the start.

Haruichi bit his bottom lip, a slash of pain piercing through his chest from his thoughts. Is there any book out there that can teach him how to unlike someone?

No. That's wrong.

Is there any book out there that can teach him how to steal Furuya-kun's heart for himself?

Because Haruichi will pay no matter how much it cost.

Letting out a rueful smile, Haruichi closed his eyes from the pain. _'Baka… What a useless way to admit defeat.'_

"Haruichi, what are you doing?" A voice suddenly spoke, jolting him away from his musings. Haruichi turned, nervous that he was caught by one of his senpais slacking from his practice. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was just his aniki.

Ryosuke lifted a brow, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Don't think I won't punish you just because it was just me who caught you slacking off. On the contrary, I just might punish you real good." Ryo lifted a finger and flicked his brother's forehead. Haruichi blinked in painful surprise and took a step back away from his brother. Ryosuke's smirk widened. "Stop spacing out and go back to practice. You're way too early to slack off, brat."

Haruichi couldn't help but smile. He could feel the pain inside of him lessening a bit as he felt the sting on his forehead ebbing as well. Just the mere presence of his aniki made him feel at ease. "G-Gomen, aniki. Just a bit tired from the heat." Haruichi threw another longing look back at the bullpen, his eyes lingering just a bit longer to his friend, before he grabbed the bat and face the practice net again. "I'll get back to practice now."

Ryosuke paused, taking a peek at the bullpen with curiosity before he returned to observe his brother's face. Haruichi swung the bat slowly at first, trying to balance the weight of the wooden bat to his own weight and readying his stance at the same time. Ryosuke could detect a slight slump on his brother's stance, his eyes' a bit dull.

Ryosuke looked back at the bullpen once again, intrigued, and saw Furuya squinting towards them; his eyes focused on his brother. Ryosuke twitched.

'_Hmmm…I see…'_

Casually, he made a beeline to the ball cart, taking a ball and throwing it at his brother for practice. "So…" He started, his eyes' sharp observing his brother. "What were you thinking so deeply earlier that you're slacking on your practice, huh, Haruichi?"

"Eh?" Haruichi blinked. "Uh… I'm not particularly thinking of anyth—"

"Got an exam today?" Ryosuke asked nonchalantly, throwing another ball. Haruichi hit it perfectly before answering.

"N-No. It's nothing."

"Hmmm… Someone's bullying you?" Ryosuke's eyes narrowed at that.

Haruichi shook his head frantically, afraid that his brother might hunt everyone down if he got the wrong idea. "No! It's not that. I-It's really just the heat."

"Hmm…" Ryosuke threw another ball, his voice coming out a bit tight. "Then, I guess its _love_ huh?"

And just like that, Haruichi blanched; hitting the ball back in so much astonishment it nearly hit his brother square on his face. Ryosuke simply shifted his head to the side, avoiding any fatal hit.

Haruichi fumbled with his bat, cheeks' flushing furiously. "What—"

"So you have someone you like, Haruichi?"

"E-Eh? I d-don't… I mean—"

"There's one," Ryosuke said with conviction, the corner of his eyes tightening a bit. "As usual, you're too easy to read."

"E-Eh…? n-no… that's not..." Haruichi gnawed on his bottom lip, suddenly feeling uneasy with their conversation.

Ryosuke simply shrugged, still acting nonchalant. "I'm not going to ask who it is. It's not like it's any of my business—"

'_Yeah, right. I know exactly who it is'._

"—and I'm sure you'll let me meet her when the time is right—"

'_That bastard Furuya… I'll kill him later.'_

"—I just hope she's a good girl since you chose her—"

'_Tch. Over My Dead Body.'_

"—nah, Haruichi?" Ryosuke swung an arm over his brother's shoulder; his eyes scorching as he casually looked towards the bullpen.

"H-Haaa…" Haruichi eyes softened as he stared at his brother, his heart warming a little, and chasing the coldness he was feeling earlier. Despite his aniki's terrible attitude towards him when he first came to Seido, Haruichi knew his brother never really hated him. He was convinced it was his brother's inexplicable ways to show that he cares, that he was expecting something from Haruichi far greater than he had ever shown his aniki. And that he was expecting Haruichi to gain something more remarkable that he could be proud of.

Haruichi smiled, leaning in his forehead against side of his brother's face.

As he thought, his aniki's still the same. He's still the greatest. The _coolest._ And remained the most amazing person who knows him best.

Just like now.

His brother has found out about his feelings. He was like an open book to him.

No one can still beat his aniki.

Haruichi let out a stuttering breath, his chest tightening with the onslaught of too much emotion. Suddenly, his eyes felt hot and wet at the same time.

"It's okay." He murmured, burying his face deeper at the crook of his brother's neck. "I-It's just an unrequited love, a-after all. I-I'll get over it soon. It'll be gone before I know it, you'll see."

Haruichi feels ashamed from being so weak, and a bit regretful that he had to show it to his brother, but he couldn't help but feel grateful at the same time. The pain was agonizing, but with his aniki beside him, the burning was something he could bear.

Eyes widening in disbelief, Ryosuke could only tighten his arm around Haruichi as he stared at the top of his head, his mind full of sudden confusion and his heart hurting from the sound of his brother's shaky voice.

Wha—What the hell is his brother talking about?

_Unrequited love?_ With _who_? Huh? Was Ryosuke wrong with his assessment earlier about Furuya? But Furuya is—

_Huh?_

No. HUH? No. no. no. no.

Eh— Huh?

Ryosuke suddenly felt his temple throbbing. "W-Wait a minute, Harui—"

"Nee, Harucchi! Stop being buddy-buddy with onii-san and come help me with practice! I need to—GEH!" Sawamura stopped on his track and shuddered when Ryosuke shot him a deathly glare.

Haruichi let out quivering laugh, swallowing with an effort to get rid the pain lodging in his throat. He took a step back away from his brother's arms over his shoulders and turned towards the direction of his friend. Sawamura looked like he would faint any minute from receiving Ryosuke's _Don't-Disturb-Us _glare_._

He turned back to his big brother, blinking away the unshed tears and smiling a tad shyly. "I—uh— gomen, aniki, that was—uhh—" Haruichi brushed a hand over his now heated face, trying to remove any remnants of his embarrassing state. "I-I'll go help Eijun-kun. Let's continue our practice later, na?"

Ryosuke could only give a small nod in silence and Haruichi jogged towards his friend, his heart feeling a bit lighter. Only his aniki could make him feel better so quickly. Sawamura pulled him to his side, hugging him from behind as he tried to hide from Ryosuke sight.

"I thought I'm going to turn into barbecue from onii-san's glare! Scary! Haruichi, are you alright? Did onii-san bully you? I thought he was strangling you at first! Scary!" Sawamura clung onto his back a little more tightly, still shuddering from the thought of a sizzling _Sawamura-barbecue_. Haruichi ruffled his friend's hair, his smile widening.

It was one of the reasons why he could never hate Eijun-kun despite being his rival in love. His friend was just too cute for his own good. Although at times, he's jealousy got the better of him, Haruichi was always reminded just like now why Eijun-kun remained his best friend.

"Let's go, Eijun-kun, or you'll fall behind Furuya-kun. He's been practicing this whole time while you're having you lover's quarrel with Miyuki-senpai."

Sawamura grinned. "Ho-yo!" Then he paused, processing what he had just heard. He sputtered a protest, flushing. "Wha—?! Who's having a lover's quarrel?!"

**...**

Ryosuke watched as his brother snickered from his friend's flushing protest, Sawamura still clinging onto his back. Ryosuke's eyes narrowed when he remembered what just happened earlier.

What does Haruichi meant about being in an unrequited love?

Ryosuke shifted his gaze towards the bullpen once again, his eyes landing on their other first-year pitcher. Furuya moved towards near the door with his eyes glued to Sawamura and Haruichi, a frown marring his handsome face and his lips thinning from watching the somewhat intimate embrace between his two friends. What Ryosuke saw in his eyes as Furuya watched Sawamura is a confirmation of what he saw in his eyes while he was watching Haruichi earlier.

It was plainly obvious.

The pink-haired third-year returned his gaze back at his brother with a frown of his own, a sense of dissatisfaction swirling inside of him.

"Just what side of Furuya are you seeing all this time, Haruichi?"

Idiocy's definitely contagious. Sawamura's rubbing off pretty badly with his brother.

**...**

If there was something like a heart-shredder that exists in this world, Furuya knew that the damn thing had made a home quite nicely inside of his chest. He could feel his heart thumping irritably, squeezing tightly, a frustration that made the pit of his stomach clenching in a painful spasm he felt like he was going to throw up. The scene before him was simply unbearable.

And Furuya didn't have any slightest idea why the hell he feel that way.

Is it because they were his first friends since forever that he felt anxious being left out? Furuya knew he doesn't hate Sawamura. Sometimes, he even enjoyed being with him.

But each time… each time Sawamura and Haruichi enjoyed each other's company just like now…

Furuya couldn't stand it.

It's just that… he hates someone holding Haruichi the way Sawamura's doing at the moment. Furuya hates it when Haruichi smiled towards the other pitcher with so much warmth, so much admiration that the mere sight of it makes him want to throw something hard. Ironically, that feeling let him threw more accurate and powerful pitches like never before.

Furuya jerked away from his musings when Sawamura yelled louder, his face lighting up as he grabbed Haruichi and pulled him towards the mound. As Sawamura tightened his hold around Haruichi's hand, Furuya tightened his grip around the ball in his hand, almost crushing the poor rounded object.

He knew he couldn't stand watching them anymore. So why can't he moved his eyes away from them? Why does he feel betrayed and threatened at the same time? Is it because…

…Because Haruichi _likes_ Sawamura?

That thought sent his already confused heart into twisting flip flops Furuya was sure the feeling will permanently live in his throat. Furuya doesn't know what going on, but he knew this feeling well.

The jealousy is excruciating.

Furuya knew. He had always known. It was pretty obvious each time he looked at Haruichi.

His friend is secretly in love.

It was so obvious that it's painful for Furuya to watch sometimes. Each time Sawamura comes near, Furuya felt like pulling Haruichi away for himself, or every time Sawamura's feeling down, Furuya felt defeated whenever Haruichi was always there to makes things better for the other.

Furuya felt always left out.

He can never be number one in Haruichi's heart. That's why he keeps trying harder. If he becomes the ace, would Haruichi like him just as much as he likes the other pitcher? Despite Sawamura liking Miyuki-senpai, Furuya couldn't help feeling uneasy. Being ahead of him in baseball could be the only way.

Sawamura isn't just his rival in baseball. He's also his rival in Haruichi's attention.

"If you're face gets any grouchier, your fan base will crumble to pieces. You're face looks scary, Furuya." Kuramochi stopped at his side and slapped his back with so much force it nearly sent him stumbling on his feet. "You okay, teme?"

Furuya hid a grimace, reaching a hand over his back to soothe the pain. "Kuramochi-senpai, if you're going to sneak around here often, please stop the sexual harassment. I'll tell Kuminato-senpai."

"That's far from being sexual harassment, ahou."

"Then violence."

"That too. Tch. Stiff as usual. Loosen up a bit, will ya?" Kuramochi clacked his tongue. Lifting a brow, he tilted his head towards the two other first years and looked at Furuya curiously. "Sawamura did something again? You looked tense earlier." Tense was putting it mildly. More like overly upset. Kuramochi's gossip-antennae were now fully activated.

Furuya avoided his gaze and shrugged nonchalantly, or as composedly as he can afford while he tried to cool off the raging of emotions inside of him. "It's nothing."

"Oh…" Kuramochi scrutinized his kohai, noting the tension in his shoulder. "Mah, it's not like it's my business, so whatever."

"No, it's not. So whatever." Furuya deadpanned, a hint of defiance in his voice. Before Kuramochi could scoff back a reply, he lifted a brow as he watched Furuya toeing the ground absentmindedly, gawking at his two friends with his entire body practically screaming with uncertainty.

Kuramochi smirked, feeling mischievous. "Ho~ho… bit jealous they're having fun without you, huh?"

Furuya shoot him a glare. "'Am not."

"Hmmm… Ja, you want to slack off like them too, ain't ya?"

The glare grew ten times sharper. "Absolutely not."

"Eh? Then what? The way you keep looking at them, you're acting like you've got monthly period."

This time, Furuya's glare turned homicidal. "Sexual harassment, senpai."

He laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Geez." Kuramochi crossed an arm over his chest, leaning back at the pole behind him. "Then what?"

Kuramochi hid a grin when Furuya yet again spared a glance over his two friends, frowning as he watched Sawamura's hands all over Haruichi.

"Do—" Furuya coughed and smoothed his expression."Um… Don't you think they're being _too_ close?" He muttered. "It wouldn't be good if Miyuki-senpai got the wrong idea." Furuya shrugged. Kuramochi could see the other trying to act nonchalant and hiding the hint of displeasure in his voice.

Kuramochi's smirk turned downright sly. "Hmmm… you're right."

_Kyahaha! Crap, I want to laugh! I really want to laugh! I can't stop it! This idiot's too obvious! _

Kuramochi wiped a hand over his mouth, suppressing a snicker. "Uh… I think it's no big deal. Two '_catcher-potentials'—_" Kuramochi flicked his pinky maliciously, leering. "— aren't just compatible like that, ya know?"

"…"

"…"

Furuya blinked, slowly turning to look at his senpai with a frown. "Huh?"

Kuramochi blinked back. "Eh?"

"…"

"…"

"Senpai—" Furuya finally spoke in a monotone voice. "—are you sick?"

Twitch.

"Huuuh?" Kuramochi gaped.

Furuya patted his shoulder, an annoying deadpanned expression on his face. "Have you forgotten senpai? They're not catchers. That guy—" He nodded towards Sawamura, his voice sounded condescending. "—he's a pitcher, right?"

Kuramochi blinked back some more, taken aback. "E-Eh? U-Uh… haaa… y-you're right. T-That's true."

Silence.

"….."

"….."

Blink. Blink.

"….."

"…"

Blink. Blink. Blink.

Eh? EH? Huuuhhh…?

Kuramochi snapped. "WAIT! Wait! Wait! Wait a damn minute—!" He shouted, eyes growing wide in disbelief. "A-Are you for real?" He sputtered. "I didn't mean that kind of catcher, ahou! No, I meant, _that_ kind of catcher! Uke! Not seme! Get it?!"

Furuya's now the one who looked taken aback, blinking back in confusion. "Hai?"

Kuramochi slapped a hand over his forehead, exasperated. "Are you a moron?"

'_Oi. Oi. Oi. Oi. Is this guy for real? Like, for real? Is this idiot's going to be alright? Wha— Oh crap. I can't believe it.'_

Now, it was Kuramochi's turned to stare at Furuya with pitying look. Kuramochi patted his shoulder, voice soothing as he spoke. "When the time comes that you finally need to learn about what I meant with the words _'catcher'_ and _'uke'_ and _'seme'_, I'll be here to teach you the ropes, alright?" Kuramochi swung an arm over the confused first-year's shoulders, comforting the pitcher with a friendly hug. "Ahh… geez, _Furuya-kun_, you're suddenly making me so worried. You're just so _pure~_"

Furuya could only stand there listening to the dejected muttering of his senpai, brows scrunched in an even more puzzlement.

Uke? Seme?

"H-Hai?"

**...**

Everyone stumbled from their seats as the bell rung in the entire school ground, signaling the start of lunch break. In every direction, student started sauntering about, some of the students stretching, others laughing as they went out of the room in easy pace after finally enduring the torturous time studying the entire morning, while the others started getting ready to eat their _bentos_.

Inside their classroom, Furuya flopped over his table with a sigh of relief, burying his face in his arms. That math problem nearly killed him. If the bell hadn't rung, his math teacher would probably start spitting nails at him.

Well it's not like it's his fault he couldn't answer any of it, his teacher's explanations was just that shitty…

…and well, it wasn't his fault why his other classmates could answer those questions just fine.

One of his classmates slapped him on his back and Furuya cringed, but he didn't dare to look up from his position.

"Don't worry about it, Furuya! Just get that baldie good next time!"

"Right, right. Stop being depress. Kuminato will surely help you again during exams." Another one piped in.

That's even worse. Haruichi witnessed him in such an embarrassing situation. Haruichi was probably now thinking that he was even stupider than his rival.

Ugh! He's such an idiot!

Not to mentioned that he was being an unreasonable brat earlier when the three of them were walking together to school from practice this morning. He keeps avoiding the other, and he didn't even try to talk to him when Sawamura went to his own classroom, not even between breaks. He knew he was being petty, but Furuya could still feel the uncomfortable weight on his chest just remembering his two friends being so buddy-buddy earlier, bordering to almost intimate. He didn't really understand what Kuramochi-senpai was talking about earlier, but it didn't quell the bubbling jealously twisting inside of him.

He sighed dejectedly. _'So childish.'_

Furuya was still moping in despair when he felt someone poked at the blade of his shoulder. He tried to shrug it off, a bit pissed off. But after a few seconds, the poking came back albeit a tad hesitatingly. Irritated, Furuya shifted his head to peek and look up, trying to intimidate the owner of the offending finger to back off with a glare.

Instead of one of his boisterous classmates who always disturbed him with some stupid conversation he couldn't understand one bit, Furuya nearly choked on his own tongue when he realized who it is.

"You…"

Haruichi gave him a small smile, his eyes peeking under his bangs with a hint of uncertainty. "Furuya-kun, are you coming? E-Eijun-kun will get mad if we don't hurry."

Furuya couldn't answer right away, too mystified as he stared at the beautiful eyes peeking at him from above. It's not often that he had the chance to see Haruichi's eyes, but each time those eyes were fixed on him, Furuya felt like his entire being was engulfed in a shockingly strong heat, his heart skipping a notch. The color of his friend's eyes is just too beautiful to marvel in sight.

Haruichi blushed from the intense stare, and he started to gnaw on his lower lip. "Um… Furuya-kun?"

The pitcher blinked and he jolted from his momentary trance. He flushed, realizing what he had done from the way his friend started shuffling uncomfortably on his feet, blushing. Furuya cleared his throat. "Uh... okay." He stood, completely flustered.

Facing one another, they stared at each other, both waiting the other to move towards the door. Their two classmates who were speaking at Furuya earlier looked on from the sidelines, gawking between the two of them in suspense breath. After a whole minute of silence, they watched as Furuya and Haruichi turned bright red from staring intently at one another.

"These two are too obvious." The first muttered at his friend.

"Yeah. It's so obvious I want to knock them both for being lovey-dovey in front of us." The other snorted back, rolling his eyes.

"Um… well, l-let's go." Haruichi stuttered. He spun around and walked hurriedly towards the door, hiding his flushing face.

Furuya muttered a response, striding after his friend with an uneasy look.

The two classmates who were left behind watched until Furuya walked out of the door and they looked at each, both letting out a simultaneous exasperated sigh.

"They're idiots."

Outside, Haruichi was finally able to calm himself and waited for Furuya to catch up with him. When Furuya stood beside him, Haruichi tried to smile in an effort to lessen the tension, but the instant their eyes met, both of them flushed so hard they started to walk beside each other in an awkward silence.

"Ne…" Furuya started to speak.

Haruichi gave a start and looked up at his friend, trying to hide the sharp pain that sliced through him with a simple questioning smile. There was it again. Just a simple call. No names, nothing. Had Furuya ever called his name before?

As far as Haruichi could remember, never.

Haruichi wouldn't ever admit it out loud, but it hurts all the same. It simply showed how insignificant his existence was in Furuya's opinion.

"Ne…"

Blinking, Haruichi shook his head to dispel any depressing thoughts. He smiled sheepishly as he looked up at his friend. "What is it, Furu—?"

"Heeeeyyyy~ Haru-chan~!"

"Haru-chan~ wait for us~!"

Astonished with the nickname, Haruichi blanched, and he turned around in disbelief. He found three of their senpai running towards them, waving enthusiastically. Furuya grunted beside him, his brows rising in confusion.

"_Haru-chan_ who?" Furuya asked quietly, a pinched look on his face.

"Uhh… not sure." Haruichi sweat dropped, temporarily forgetting the awkwardness between them.

Yeah, who's Haru-chan?

'_It's not me, is it?' _Haruichi hoped not.

"Who are they?" Furuya inquired, now looking displeased for some unknown reason.

The pink-haired first-year sighed. "They're senpai in our club, Furuya-kun. Second-years." It's so like Furuya not to remember all of his teammates.

"Hmm… Can't we just leave?"

Letting out another sigh, Haruichi shot Furuya a stern look as their three senpais stopped beside them. Haruichi warned his friend with his eyes and turned towards the three second-years with a confused but rather polite smile.

"Ano… Can we help you, senpai?"

"Had lunch yet, Haru-chan?" One of them asked, smiling sweetly.

"Eh? Er—not yet." Haruichi absentmindedly reach out at Furuya's back to comfort when he felt the other stiffening beside him.

The three senpai all beamed and Haruichi blinked in surprise when all of the sudden, three wrapped bentos were fished out of nowhere and was now being shove to his face.

"Here. You can have these."

"Eh?"

"Here, here." They all shoved it in his arms, and the first-year didn't have the time to refuse any of them before the three ecstatic senpais started to walk away. "Enjoy it, Haru-chan~!" They called out back, waving cheerfully.

"Eh? E-Eh?! W-Wait! Senpai—?!"

"Hope you like it!" And just like that, the three second-years were out of their sight.

Haruichi looked at the lunchboxes on his hands, all of them so huge he had no idea how they expect him to eat all of them. In the first place, why did they even bother making these for him?

Haruichi sweat dropped. Did they like the _'little-brother type' _thingy character? Uh… Otakus?

He paused.

Nah. It's not like that. Right?

(It is like _that, _Haruichi.)

Mah. Guess it's not that bad. He looked up at his friend, smiling a little.

"Well, we've got ourselves some free lunch, Furuya-kun. I'm sure these will be really delicious. They sometimes gave me snacks and they were really good." He smiled warmly. "We're so lucky to have wonderful senpais in our club, nee?"

Furuya didn't answer and watched as his friend beamed at the lunchboxes, looking somewhat delighted. For some unknown reason, Furuya had the sudden urge to pluck those lunchboxes out of Haruichi's grasp and stamped on them so hard they'll be buried underground for the next thousands of years. Unfortunately, the smile on his friend's face prevented him from doing that. Furuya could feel the raw raging emotions awakening inside of him, his hand twitching to grab something (preferably those damn lunchboxes) and crumpled them to pieces.

What the hell is this? Furuya knew his friend could be extremely adorable. Haruichi had the soft, feminine quality that could make even the guys noticed him, but three rivals out of nowhere? He was already having a hard time with just Sawamura alone, and now another three competitions?

Furuya grabbed his stomach, urging the twisting knots inside to calm down so he could think properly. He knew at the moment Haruichi likes Sawamura, so it's basically nonsense to get worried about those three, but it that really alright? What if entertaining some naïve thoughts like that became the reason to lose Haruichi completely?

Just the mere thought of it send a fire so hot and so painful in Furuya's heart that he started to tremble, his mind were suddenly full of images of Haruichi being together with someone else. Furuya felt like crushing something, anything. The emotions' riding him so hard he staggered on his feet.

"Furuya-kun?" Haruichi turned to look back when he realized Furuya was no longer following in his pace. "What's wro—?"

Within the blink of an eye, Furuya yanked Haruichi forcefully, shoving him inside the empty classroom on their right and slamming the door shut with so much force it left Haruichi's ear ringing.

Eyes widening, Haruichi was about to raise a protest, when what happened next rendered him completely speechless.

Furuya didn't know if it was the anxiety, the building of unease he was constantly trying to purge inside of him each time Haruichi was with Sawamura. But these feelings… these feelings were making him lose his mind, all his coherent thoughts.

Furuya couldn't take it anymore.

Pushing any rationality out to the wind, Furuya grabbed Haruichi from behind, hugging him so tightly, and so close, he wished they're body could become one, until they merged into one entity and the loud thumping of his heart could be heard within just the two of them.

He ignored Haruichi's gasp of surprise, or the way his body stiffen in his hold. All Furuya could think was the body pressing against him. The warm, soft and pliant body he held in his arms.

Haruichi belongs to him. _Only_ to him. No one else.

Furuya tightened his arms, burying his face against Haruichi's hair as he inhaled softly.

'_I want to stay like this. I want to lock him up so bad, so far away from here that nobody could ever take him away from me. I want to stay like this.'_

'_Always.'_

"Haruichi…" Furuya whispered against his ear huskily, making Haruichi gasped.

Haruichi felt like his world tilted in its axis, and suddenly, everything stopped moving. He inhaled a stutter breath, his heart pounding wildly.

His name. Furuya spoke his name.

And it sounded so beautiful, so lyrical, and so magical, Haruichi felt like crying.

Oh God.

He bit his bottom lip as he willed his racing heart to slow down. Pushing himself slowly away from the embrace, Haruichi turned and tilted his head to look up at Furuya, eyes cautious and a tad hopeful.

"F-Furuya-kun?"

And just like that, Furuya snapped away from his stupor, finally realizing that his arms were circling around his friend. Furuya suddenly turned pale, his usual deadpan look now gone in exchange with an alarmed expression. Pushing Haruichi away by his shoulder, Furuya let out a noise between a stupefied gasp and a distressed curse, grimacing from his stupidity.

Before Haruichi could say anything else, Furuya bowed down, muttered a quiet apology and made a dash to the door, leaving the other behind in a state of confusion, and a deeply blushing face.

Haruichi clutched a hand over his heart, trying to even out his breathing as he inhaled shakily.

"W-Wha— E-Eh…?"

**...**

On the other side of the school, the three senpais who gave Haruichi bentos were talking animatedly, their eyes gleaming in pleasure.

"Hyaaa~~Haru-chan was really cute, ne?" One of them said.

The other nodded. "Yes, yes. So cute, I really want to squeeze him." He hugged his arms around himself and squirmed in delightful shiver. "He's so cute I'm sure he'll fit right into my arms."

The third one let out a happy sigh. "I hope he'll like our bentos…"

They were so busy daydreaming that they hadn't noticed a dark aura burning furiously behind them before it was too late. When the other students on the hallway suddenly darted away in terrified rush, the three senpai stopped on their tracks, frowning in confusion.

"What happened—? "

"Heeh~ you gave _Haru-chan_ a bento, huh? You three are so _kind~_" An ominous voice, full of false friendliness suddenly spoke from behind.

The three of them froze.

_Ooooh, shit. _

'_We're going to be killed!'_

"Ahahaha… why do I get the feeling it suddenly turned cold? Ahahaha… the weather these days is so confusing, huh? I'm even starting to hear voices…" the first one said, already sweating bullets.

"Y-You're right. O-On my part, I-I feel so hot. Haha… I-I wonder why?" the second's squirming now turned into terrified trembling.

"B-Baka. I-it's just your imagination. D-Don't think too much about it." The third one insisted, and he may have sounded convincing if it weren't for his shaking knees.

The burning aura intensified, and they gulped down a scream when the voice spoke again in a very pissed off tone. "Like hell, you morons. I'm right here. And don't even think about running away or I'll kill you." Ryo warned as the three tried to run and escape his wrath. Nevertheless, the three of them smartly (or stupidly) choose to ignore the warning and tried to make a run for it. They all yelped like kicked puppies when Kuramochi, who they noticed a bit too late, pounced and grabbed the three of them around their necks, smirking evilly.

"Hiiiiii!" The three idiots shrieked.

Kuramochi _tsked._ "Think you can actually escape Ryo-san, huh?"

"Sumimasen! Sumimasen! We won't do it again!" And they shrieked some more.

"Obviously." Ryo gritted out, popping his knuckles loudly with an evil smile of his own.

"Listen, you idiots." Ryo popped his thumb. The sound made the three sweating listlessly. Ryo smirked, showing off his knuckles cheerfully.

"Don't—" He popped another. The three started shaking, their eyes wide with fear. "—ever come—" And he popped another. Kuramochi's now grinning with manic glee. "—near Haruichi—" Ryo finally popped his last finger, watching as the three struggled not to pass out, terrorized from the display.

"—Again. Understand?" Ryo's eyes turned icy cold.

The three nodded their heads frantically. "H-Hai… S-Sumimasen…" They sobbed tearfully.

"Che. Get out of my sight before I change my mind." Ryo scowled, watching as the three idiots scrambled on their feet and scurried away in every direction, earnestly trying to put a distance between themselves and the nightmare that's called Kuminato Ryosuke.

Kuramochi shook his head, his eyes gleaming teasingly as he watched the scowl on Ryo-san's face fondly. "I thought you said you're not going to interfere, Ryo-san. You said something about Haruichi finding things on his own and doing things with his own power to gain happiness or whatever earlier, right?"

Ryo sneered.

On their way to class this morning, Ryo-san spoke to him about what he found out about Haruichi's feelings and what he think Haruichi misunderstood about Furuya's feelings too. Kuramochi even told him about his own discovery about Furuya earlier and Kuramochi was pretty sure Ryo-san wouldn't approve. Saying Kuramochi was completely shocked when Ryo-san simply shrug and said nonchalantly that he won't interfere was an understatement of the year. He nearly choked to death in his disbelief.

Ryo-san, with his huge (and _hidden_) brother-complex, deciding not to interfere with his brother's love life?

Haha. Impossible.

"That's not called interfering." Ryo snapped at him. "Those three idiots have nothing to do with Haruichi and Furuya." He justified, face tight with stubbornness.

"Right." Kuramochi hid a smile, while Ryo's scowl deepened when they stumble upon Furuya running in the hallway, looking tense and flushing furiously. Both of them were secretly watching earlier when Furuya shoved Ryo-san's brother inside the chemistry lab. The way Furuya's acting now, something definitely happened.

Something _interesting_ Kuramochi was pretty sure it's making Ryo-san's blood boil in protective mode.

"Ryo-san. You said you're not going to interfere." Kuramochi teased.

Acting like he was being force-fed with a platter of poisonous snakes, Ryo gritted out a reply, his handsome face twisting in a demonic frown.

"I-AM-NOT."

The second- year snickered. "Right. That's great."

"I'm going to double your practice menu tonight, YOUICHI."

"Wha—E-EH?!"

**...**

The day ended so slow for all the students of Seido High. But for Haruichi, the time went so fast, that the thumping of his heart hadn't let out the entire day even for a second, making him dizzy from all the blood rushing through his head. The afternoon practice came and went, and Haruichi and Furuya tried very hard to avoid each other.

Furuya decided to shut himself inside the bullpen, completely distracted that when Miyuki asked for a pitch, the ball miraculously went straight to Miyauchi-senpai's crotch, sending the entire bullpen (with Miyauchi's damaged precious _balls_) in complete chaos. Miyuki got so pissed that Furuya was nearly kicked out of the bullpen.

Haruichi, on the other hand, couldn't help but blush each time someone mention Furuya's name, and _his_ name for that matter. Just earlier when Sawamura called out to him, his friend's voice suddenly overlapped with his memory of Furuya's husky voice whispering his name, and Haruichi turned completely red just from remembering. He walked hurriedly away from the field when their Coach announced the end of practice, embarrassed to see the object of his affection.

To the confusion of Haruichi's roommates, the first-year didn't even make a move out of bed for dinner. They started to get worried, but Haruichi simply mumble an apology, insisting that he's perfectly fine. Zono thought that anyone who buried their face deep within their pillows with ears so red he looked like he was going to burst can't be called perfectly fine. But he didn't make a comment anyway. If it's not about the body, then their kohai was probably starting to become crazy. They simply decided to leave Haruichi alone to deal with his own problems (craziness).

And now, all alone, Haruichi felt the burning of his face increase tenfold. He clamped his hands over his ears, trying desperately to erase the feeling of Furuya-kun's hot breath fanning over the side of his face, and the sound of his voice endlessly echoing in his mind.

'_Haruichi…'_

_Oh God. Oh God. No, no, no, no, no!_ Closing his eyes tightly, Haruichi curled into a ball, his fingers clutching the pillow closer as he felt his face burning hotly.

'_I can't… I can't! Stop it! Please stop it! I'm going to die!' _What is he going to do? His felt like his heart's going to burst. Haruichi felt like he was melting from all the feelings swirling inside of him. His heart is trembling. His body's shaking. He felt like he's going crazy.

What the hell? What's going on? What the hell is going on?! It was just his name!

Just Furuya-kun saying his name and Haruichi felt like he was being confessed to. Like Furuya-kun feels the same way he does.

Pause.

Wait. The same way?

Haruichi shot out from the bed, eyes widening. _The same way? _

F-Furuya-kun…?

That's right. What was the meaning of what happen earlier by the way? Why did he suddenly embrace him like that? Haruichi felt his body burned as he remembered the heat coming from Furuya-kun's body holding him tightly from behind. It feels so… so… so…. warm, so… so safe... and… and…

So… hot…

NO, no, no, no! Back to the point! Back to the main point!

What if—? What if Furuya-kun feels— No, no, no, no. Impossible. That's impossible. Furuya-kun likes Eijun-kun. He knew. He knows. He had always known.

But… but what about earlier then—?

'_Stop it, Haruichi! You're just being carried away! Something like that couldn't possibly be—'_

—couldn't possibly be…

…B-But… What's stopping him in finding if it's true? Because of Eijun-kun?

No. Eijun-kun already has Miyuki-senpai.

Is it because Furuya-kun couldn't possibly return his feelings? Because he couldn't be as good as Eijun-kun?

…But good in what way—?

Haruichi 's breathing came out in small puffs, his heart racing from the blossoming hope kindling inside of him. Biting his lower lip, he a rubbed a hand over his face, trying to clear off his mind.

There was nothing to hold him back. Nothing at all. He could make Furuya-kun _his._

Furuya-kun that belongs only to him.

Haruichi shot towards the door, panting in haste.

'_Furuya-kun…!'_

**...**

If Furuya ever ran any faster than he already was, he was pretty sure Coach Kataoka and all the senpais would probably kill him. He was already so tired that he felt like all his limbs were going to fall off from his body. The tire he kept dragging behind was now even starting to get heavier every minute.

But Furuya couldn't possibly stop.

Every time he remembered what he did during lunch break, Furuya had the sudden urge to dig from any earth surface he could find and stay there for all eternity. The embarrassment and regret was so strong he couldn't possibly be still alive.

Forget about stopping from running, he couldn't even pluck the courage to run back to the dorms. What if he stumbled upon Haruichi on his way back?

No. No way in hell.

He's not ready yet.

"Furuya, teme! I knew it!" Sawamura's voice suddenly rang around the field that it almost made Furuya jump out of his skin. Jolting away from his musings, he grimaced when he look back and found the other giving him a fist.

Crap.

Furuya ran faster, trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. Not only was he indeed using Sawamura's tire, he was not exactly in a mood to be cozy with his rival. Being with him right now is out of question.

He'll only remind him of Haruichi.

He made a run for it. Panting, Furuya made sure he already run a long way away when he suddenly felt a prickling at his nape, the feeling of someone behind him intensified. Suspicious, Furuya took a peek and looked back…

…And found Sawamura running inches away from behind, panting irritably down his neck with his face scrunched in fury.

Furuya stumbled on his feet from shock, and found himself falling face down onto the ground. Unfortunately, Sawamura couldn't break out his own pace, and the other fell on top of him, knocking the air out his lungs.

"Ughf!" Furuya doubled-over.

"Give me back my tire!" Sawamura screeched, unaffected with their fall. He used his weight to trap Furuya underneath, digging his elbow on his side.

Furuya winced, pushing him away. "Alright, alright! Just move. You're heavy."

"Like I care!" Sawamura huffed, but started scrambling on his feet anyway.

"Why are you even following me?" Furuya let out a sigh, accepting begrudgingly the hand Sawamura's holding out to him.

"Do you even need to ask?" His friend looked like he was ready to spit fire.

"Isn't it okay once in awhile?"

"It's not okay today! I just cleaned it earlier after practice!"

Furuya had the sudden urge to roll his eyes (but of course he didn't). "Ahhh… That's why it feels good in my hands when I fetched it earlier from the shed. I see, I see…"

"I'm going to kill you teme!" Sawamura gritted out. Furuya hid a smirk and let out an exaggerated sigh.

"I get it. I'm going to clean it now."

"Obviously!"

Furuya exasperatedly heaved the tire off from the ground and halfheartedly walk towards the shed, Sawamura following behind in an even pace, muttering protest and insults under his breath. Putting the tire unceremoniously on the ground (which gained another complaint from the other pitcher) Furuya fetched Sawamura's _'cleaning tools' _inside, and proceeded to clean the tire with a bored look on his face after he came out.

Sawamura felt a vein popped on his forehead as he watched. Furuya blinked up at him. "Huh, you're still here?"

"I'm going to strangle you."

Sawamura's grumbling got even more agitated when Furuya simply shrugged and continued on his apathetic cleaning.

"Oi! Not like that! Rub it a bit more gently! No! Don't spray too much water; it's going to wear down more easily! No, not like that—! Do it like this! No, like this! Are you stupid? I said like this! A geez, give it to me! I'm going to do it!" Huffing irritably, Sawamura plucked the rug out of Furuya's hand, and started lovingly cleaning his precious tire.

"Bastard. Can't even clean my tire properly."

"Hm."

"Stop talking or I'm going to shove this rug into your mouth."

"I'm not."

"Don't—! Just shut up!"

After a few minutes of silence, Sawamura finally let out a pleased hum, looking at his tire proudly. Beaming, he hauled the tire inside the shed, putting it out of the way from the other baseball equipments.

Left alone outside, Furuya couldn't help but looked at the field, imagining Haruichi playing there enthusiastically like always, smiling merrily that it never failed to warm his heart.

He had always wondered what's the meaning of these feelings, the meaning behind his jealousy, his greed towards Haruichi's attention, and the urge to protect him from any harm.

Furuya finally found his answer earlier while he held Haruichi warm body against him.

It's not a matter of friendship. It's a matter of love, desire, and affection.

Furuya _likes_ Haruichi. The kind of like that made his heart squeeze painfully he couldn't even manage to breath properly just thinking about him.

He could still feel the soft body encased in his arms. The weight of Haruichi strength, his hesitation and trembling. Haruichi felt so right inside his arms.

Haruichi felt like home.

But after what he did, will they stay forever like this? Avoiding each other, being too aware of one another? Haruichi probably already got wind of his feeling towards him. Furuya knew it was pretty obvious. Did Haruichi avoid him as well because he felt awkward that he couldn't return his feelings? Was he pitying him? Or probably, did Haruichi feel troubled that he needed time to think on how to treat Furuya's delicate feelings?

Furuya's not asking anything at all. They were the first friends he had. Sawamura as his rival, and Haruichi…

…Haruichi as his first love.

He just wanted to have Haruichi beside him forever. Even just as friends.

"Oi."

Looking at his side, Furuya eyes landed at something Sawamura's holding out to him.

"Nani?" He eyed the box of Pocky like it was something out of this world. He was even inclined to poke the damn thing just to prove that Sawamura was actually trying to give him something solid.

Sawamura rolled his eyes. "Uhm." He held out insistently, his own mouth now chomping at least ten chocolate-covered biscuit sticks.

"You're giving it to me?" He asked.

"No! I'm just giving you some!"

Furuya stared. Looking down at the Pocky's box once more, he reached out pulled two sticks out with hesitation.

"Domo." He mumbled. He couldn't help but stare at the treat in his hand, looking uncertain.

His friend let out a huff. "It's not poisoned geez. Stop staring and just eat it. And besides—" Sawamura shrugged, flushing a little. "You look like you really need it." He grinned and put another stick to his mouth.

Furuya blinked, a bit surprised. Despite himself, his lips lifted a little in a small smile. _Need it, huh?_ Why could he never truly hate this idiot again? The answer was probably can be found from these two Pocky sticks he was now clutching in his hand.

"I guess you're right." He murmured back, and started munching on the snack.

Sawamura beamed, looking pleased with himself. They stayed for a while like that, exchanging the box of Pocky back and forth in a comfortable silence that somehow served as a soothing balm in Furuya's conflicting emotions.

"Ne, Furuya." Sawamura called out quietly, breaking the silence between them.

"Hm?"

"Y-You… I-I mean… Ah, geez!" Sawamura coughed. "W-What kind of practice menu did M-Miyuki came up with f-for you?" He asked, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

Without looking at him, Furuya answered in a nonchalant voice. "He said I can't tell you."

Sawamura gaped. "E-Eh?!"

"Miyuki-senpai and Chris-senpai said that if you find out, you'll try to do it secretly and that you're going to overdo it again. I don't really mind that you may self-destruct, but they said they're going to cut off my own practice time if I ever tell you. I want to practice more so…" Furuya shrugged. "I agreed."

"Nani?!" Sawamura wailed, looking extremely livid. "Chris-senpai too?! Waah, I can't believe it! That's unfair! And that bastard Miyuki! Saying something like that behind my back!" He sobered immediately from the sudden sharp pain slicing through him with that thought. "And he's always busy to even practice with me... Why is it always you?" He mumbled with a pout, now looking dejected.

"You've always been his first priority."

Furuya watched as his rival started grumbling under his breath, a hint of disappointment reflected in his eyes. Sawamura fiddled with the box of Pocky absentmindedly, the disappointment in his eyes now turning into sadness. Furuya let out a sigh, and snatched the box of Pocky back.

"It's because you're acting like that, that its makes Miyuki-senpai want to tease you more." He muttered, pulling another stick. "Stop being a grouch. It doesn't suit you." Sawamura has always been a ball of energy. Anything but that was just downright wrong. Furuya let out another tired sigh, resigned with what he was about to say.

"I admit Miyuki-senpai is important to me." He stated in a monotone voice, acting like he hadn't just said something outrageous.

Sawamura choked.

"And I would really hate it if you take him away from me." He continued, sending the already alarmed Sawamura into a full-blown shock-mode.

"W-Wha— w-w-what— F-Furuya, y-you—! I-I thought—!" Sawamura stammered, now starting to actually panic and couldn't admit that he was now jealous because of a completely different reason.

"He's the first catcher that could catch my pitch with no problems—" Furuya went on, ignoring his friend's near hyperventilating state. "And honestly, I want him to become my sole catcher from now on." Furuya shot him a hard stare.

Sawamura froze from the sudden change in Furuya's voice. With furrowed brows and eyes full of determination, he met Furuya's sharp gaze head-on. They stared at each other for a while, challenging one another.

Furuya averted his gaze. "But you know—" He murmured, loud enough so he could be heard, and in return making the other jerked up.

"You haven't seen Miyuki-senpai when he catches for you."

Sawamura blinked. "Eh? "

Now, it was Furuya's turn to fiddle with the box of Pocky in his hand. "With me, Miyuki-senpai is always on edge. Always on alert. He keeps on wondering when will I reach my limit, and if I could still go on to play the game. He encourages me, I pitch and he catches, nothing more." Furuya lifted another stick to his mouth, trying to cover up the tightness in his voice as he went on. "In Kawakami-senpai's case, he's always worried, and always desperate to make it easy for him. He always made it a point to let him feel at ease to end the game. "

Furuya gave a small smile, albeit a bit bitter. "But with you—Miyuki-senpai… always looks thrilled…"

Sawamura blushed. "W-What are you saying…?"

Furuya pulled another stick from the box, staring at the snack without really seeing it. "With you… He's always on edge, he's always on alert. He's always worried and always tries to make thing better. In the field, he believed that you could pull impossible things off that may bring miracles for the team. He anticipates playing with you, and he's always thrilled when you improve. You're all things Miyuki-senpai could feel in one pitcher." Furuya threw the box of Pocky back at his rival, sighing. Sawamura caught it instinctively. "…With you," Furuya mumbled, a tad bitter. "…Miyuki-senpai always looks like he's having fun."

The silence stretch for so long, neither of them felt comfortable saying another word. They knew what Furuya words implied. Things may be better for now, but at the end of the day, they're still rivals. Sooner or later, they will face against each other to finally determine who really deserve the title of number one. Furuya remained silent, fully aware that in terms of one fundamental characteristics of being a pitcher, between the two of them, he had already lost. Sawamura never spoke a word in respect to his rival.

"Hey." Furuya called out after awhile.

Sawamura jumped, unknowingly nervous. "Eh? N-Nani?"

"I want more." He held out his hand, face blank.

"H-Huh? A-Ah! Oh, here." He gave the box of Pocky back. "You really can eat."

"I love Pocky."

The other beamed. "Really? Me too! That's unexpected!"

Furuya paused, thinking. "Then I take it back. I hate Pocky." He shoved the chocolate-covered biscuit inside his mouth, munching on it nonchalantly.

Sawamura blinked. "Huh? Wait— you've just said you love it!"

"It's my right if I love it or hate it, right?"

"You—!" Sawamura hissed. "I'm going to get you one of these days, you bastard." He muttered under his breath, frustrated that he had lost this round. It was always Furuya who won their arguments these days.

Just how in hell is he going to make this bastard lose face? Is there something in this world that could make this moron flustered? Something interesting that—

Wait.

Huh…? Something… _interesting?_

Something… that could make Furuya extremely _flustered?_

Wouldn't that be—

In a flash, Sawamura expression turned evil, and a creepy smile broke out of his face.

_Hohohohoo_…

How could he forget? He'd still got a trump card on his sleeve. This bastard probably thought he hadn't notice, but he had discovered something really interesting about him. Something _extremely_ interesting…

Hooo~hoo~hoo~hoo~…

Wiping the smile out of his face, Sawamura trained his eyes towards Furuya, watching the other putting another biscuit stick to his mouth. The inner-devil Sawamura smirked, while his outer appearance simply smiled, inquiring innocently.

"Sooooo… Did you already… confess to Harucchi, huh, Furuya?"

And just like that, Furuya spitted out the Pocky out of his mouth, sending the chocolate stick, and all the saliva draped over it, flying towards Sawamura, and nearly poking him in the eye. The other pitcher let out a surprise yelp, looking disgusted, while Furuya thumped his chest frantically as he choke on his own tongue.

"Teme! That's gross!" Sawamura snarled, conveniently forgetting that it was entirely his fault. Rubbing a palm over the side of his face, he glowered at the melted chocolate stuck on his hand. "Ewww… "

Annoyed that he didn't get any points from his secret weapon, (and got a damage in return with his face now covered in chocolate-flavored saliva)) Sawamura pounced at him without warning, tackling Furuya to the ground and aiming to use the other's shirt to wipe off his face.

It was Furuya's turn to let out a yelp this time as he was slammed unceremoniously onto the ground, winded. "W-What do you think you're doing!" He wheezed out.

Sawamura started to fumble with the hem of Furuya's shirt, pulling it forcefully to his face and started wiping the chocolate (and the saliva) off his right eye and cheek. Furuya struggled from his position, pulling his shirt back from the other grasp. "Stop that! That's gross!"

"It's yours to begin with, so it's okay!" Sawamura hissed, struggling to pull the shirt back as well.

"Baka—!

"Stay put—!"

"Don't pull too hard!"

"Just let me wipe it off—! I said stay put—!

With their attention completely focus with their struggling, they didn't notice the footsteps coming towards them before it was too late, not until they heard someone gasp loudly.

They snapped their heads towards the direction of the voice and froze.

_Oh shit._

"W-What are you two doing?" Haruichi asked in a small voice, his eyes wide as he gaped at their rather intimate positions.

Furuya's flat on his back, his left hand on the top of Sawamura hand gripping his shirt, while his right hand gripping tightly on Sawamura's waist for balance.

Sawamura position was even worse. With both his legs straddling Furuya's stomach, his other hand was underneath Furuya's shirt, right on his naked chest. Both of them were breathing heavily, flustered, and definitely looked like they were on the midst of something hot and heavy.

Shocked, Furuya couldn't even gather enough strength to push Sawamura on top of him. He was suddenly seized with a feeling of an impending doom, and he couldn't move a muscle.

"Haruichi…" He murmured softly, taken aback.

Haruichi jolted from that one word, realizing that it was the second time Furuya-kun uttered his name. But this time, Furuya-kun had spoken it underneath of the person he likes.

Haruichi felt like all the air inside his lungs was being crushed from the sudden emotions that ominously seized him. Shock, jealousy, and a gigantic amount of pain. The sight of Furuya being with Eijun-kun at that moment ceased all his ability to breathe, ridding him of all the ability to think straight.

All he can see was Furuya-kun being cozy with Eijun-kun. He couldn't see anything pass that. The fear that he they may be both harboring feelings for each other, that Furuya might had confess to Eijun-kun sent all his nerves frayed with anxiety, and unexpectedly, anger.

"Uh… e-eto…" Sawamura sat upright, nervous. He had no idea why, but the atmosphere between his two friends was suddenly too thick that not only could he slice it like bread, he could probably eat the damn thing whole. He flapped his arms in a pacifying manner, bit by bit moving away from Furuya. The look of pain and anger on Haruichi's face were so palpable, Sawamura was starting to feel panicky of the situation. Slowly, he tried to entangle himself away from the top of his rival.

Furuya, on the other hand, was fixated at the varying emotions playing on Haruichi's face. He could see the pain, and all the anger that almost made Haruichi tremble from where he stand. Haruichi was looking at him with so much jealousy and pain that the sudden realization of what might cause it cut him on his gut.

Is it because he was holding Sawamura in his arms? Is it because Haruichi couldn't stand Furuya holding the person he likes that he was now seething in anger? The thought sent a sharp pain inside his chest so much that Furuya was now starting to feel his own anger mounting. He wanted to crush something. He wanted to crush all Haruichi's feelings for Sawamura as much as he wanted to make Haruichi feel the same pain he's feeling right now.

Furuya wanted him to feel utterly distressed. Because that way, it may also ebbed his own feeling of agony.

With those emotions riding him hard, Furuya forcefully yanked Sawamura back into his lap. His eyes flickered towards Haruichi in a challenging manner, and seeing the reaction of utter astonishment on his face, Furuya grabbed Sawamura's head towards him, planting an unexpected, kiss at the corner of his resisting lips.

Two simultaneous gasp (four in reality) rang out throughout the field. One from a flabbergasted Sawamura, who were too dumbfounded to even sputter another word, and one from Haruichi, whose face turned blank from shock and extreme fury.

Before Furuya could make another move, Haruichi stomped towards them with his eyes blazing angrily. Sawamura saw the vehemence beneath his eyes and frantically, he tried to struggle out of Furuya embrace. Haruichi stopped before them, and it was now Furuya's turn to let out a small gasp from the misery he found in Haruichi eyes, blowing his own lingering pain.

"Haruichi…" He murmured, heart squeezing from the sight before him. "I… I'm sorr—"

Haruichi didn't let him finish his words.

"Furuya-kun, you IDIOT!" Haruichi jumped, twisting his body with an unexpected agility, and shot his foot in a backward twist. Furuya saw the oncoming kick before it connected at the back of his head. He dove out of the way hastily.

Diving to the side to dodge the deathly kick, Furuya forgot something extremely important. And he was sorely reminded of what it was when he heard Sawamura's muffled cry of pain as the kick connected to his face. Snapping his head towards the other, Furuya's jaw dropped to the ground as he watched his rival flew five meters away, slamming face-down flat to the ground.

_Aw shit!_ He forgot about Sawamura sitting on his lap!

"I…" Haruichi spoke in a small and tight voice, making Furuya jumped anxiously. Slowly, He shifted his gaze towards his friend, and the breath got caught in his throat. Haruichi's eyes were gazing down at him full of unrestrained tears.

Haruichi blinked rapidly, pushing the hot tears away. "I-I... h-hate you… Furuya-kun." He whispered, clenching his fist tightly. He was trembling from the emotions overwhelming him to the core. "I hate you so much."

Haruichi then spun around and ran, leaving a gaping Furuya behind with his heart breaking to the point that it felt like he was being stab straight to his chest.

No…

Furuya slowly stood from his sitting position, clutching the shirt over his heart, trying desperately, and unsuccessfully to stop his stomach from twisting excruciatingly.

No, no…

Hate… Haruichi said he hates him now. He had hurt Haruichi. Is this the price of wishing that, at least for a minute, he could dull the pain and quell his disgusting jealousy? Does the price of that kiss is losing Haruichi?

Furuya wished he could turn back time. Maybe then, he wouldn't have done what he did. Maybe then, he could stay at Haruichi side forever even as a friend.

"Aw, shit… that hurt! What was that for?!" Furuya heard Sawamura cursing, but he couldn't care less to even spare him a slightest of attention. Furuya was too busy saving his heart from breaking into millions of pieces.

"Oi, Furuya! Don't ignore me! What the hell is going with Harucchi?!"

Looking at the direction of the muffled voice of his rival, Furuya found the other frowning towards him and nursing a bleeding nose, his cheeks blushing a bit. "And what the hell with that kiss teme! Are you trying to pick a fight?!"

Thank goodness it wasn't fully on his lips, or there'll be hell to pay. Just imagining that he had to explain what happened to Miyuki made Sawamura trembling a bit. Shit, Furuya was trying to get him killed!

"Crap… What the hell? Harucchi now mad at us! Stop using me to make him jealous!"

"Who's going to do that…" Furuya replied, his eyes dull.

Sawamura threw him an irritated look. "Really. Then what was with that kiss?" He said sarcastically. "He even kicked me because of that! Apologize! I'm sure Harucchi's now mad at me. He didn't even help me up— Waah! What the hell, my mouth even bleeding!"

But Furuya wasn't listening anymore. Something about what Sawamura said struck him in surprise.

'_He didn't even help me up.'_

What the—?

Wait. That's true… Normally, whenever Sawamura gets hurt, Haruichi was always there nursing him to get better.

Then—Why?

Why did he leave him just like that? Haruichi was the one who kicked Sawamura. If he really likes him, shouldn't he have been more concern? On the contrary, Haruichi never even spared him a glance.

Haruichi was _only _looking at Furuya from the very beginning of the encounter.

Furuya felt his heart started racing. It was like— Furuya was… his…only… main concern…

Wasn't Haruichi's looking at him with jealousy in his eyes? Furuya thought Haruichi was jealous of him. What if— Haruichi was jealous because—

Slowly, he turned his head towards Sawamura, his gaze connecting with the other. Sawamura lifted a brow, confused, while Furuya stared at him like he had never seen him before.

What if—?

"What is it? If you're going to apologize, I'm not going to forgive that easily— Ah, Oi! Let me finish talking, you bastard! Ah geez…" Sawamura watched as Furuya ran to the direction where Haruichi ran earlier, his pace frantic. Dabbing the hem of his shirt to his bleeding nose, Sawamura grumbled under his breath.

"What the hell is going on?"

**...**

Haruichi ran and ran, not comprehending where his feet were taking him. All he wanted was to stop the painful throbbing inside of him.

He had always known that Furuya-kun likes Eijun-kun. So why did he stupidly raised his hope just because Furuya-kun acted oddly earlier? Just merely calling his name, why did he believe Furuya-kun share the same feelings he has?

Just thinking about it made him feels so ashamed, and so stupid, he could feel the burning of tears in his eyes.

After running for several minutes, Haruichi collapsed on his knees, wiping the tears away with an arm. The trembling had stopped, but the pain remained as intense as ever. Just the memory of Furuya-kun kissing Eijun-kun was enough to make his stomach clenched like he was going to throw up.

He couldn't do this anymore. He wanted to forget. To escape. Haruichi wasn't even sure if he had enough strength to face Eijun-kun. He may just break completely from within if he saw them being together.

Haruichi felt the tears on the verge of falling once again.

"So pathetic…"

Haruichi snapped his head up, his heart skipping a beat in surprise when an extremely familiar voice spoke in front of him. Looking up, he found his brother looking down at him, his eyes unreadable.

"Aniki…" Haruichi dropped his eyes, totally ashamed of what state his brother was seeing him.

A flashed of irritation crossed his brother face, and with his lips pursed with disapproval, Ryosuke turned his back on him. "Is that all you can do, Haruichi?" He asked tightly. Haruichi flinched, biting his lower lip. "Running away and acting so cowardly? Heh, what an eyesore." Ryosuke sneered as he started to walk away. Why don't you take this opportunity and leave then? There is no longer a place for you here."

Ryosuke looked back at him, smirking unkindly. "I hate indecisive people the most."

Haruichi didn't have the time to stop them, and his tears fell incessantly from the harsh words. Trying desperately not to show his weakness any more than he already had, he wiped them away hastily, swallowing the sob lodged in his throat.

Just as always, his brother knew how to make things right. Without asking anything, without doing anything, his brother had shown him how feeble his resolve was with just simple words. He had shown him how pathetically weak he was, and how easily he gave up.

Yeah. So pathetic indeed.

"Haruichi!"

Haruichi closed his eyes tightly, willing the pain in his heart, and the tears in his eyes to go away.

Why? Why is here? Why did he follow him?

He heard the footsteps coming closer, bringing to him the reason why he's hurting, and why his heart crushing deep within him. Should he run away?

_'Running away and acting cowardly? Heh, What an eyesore.'_

NO.

It's the least he can for his brother's effort to comfort him. He will face Furuya-kun head-on. Wiping the remaining tears away, Haruichi slowly stood and turned around, facing his probably worst nightmare made in reality.

"What are you doing here?"

Furuya swallowed hard, resisting the strong desire to run up to the other and imprisoned him in his arms. The mark of tears on his friend's cheeks spoke volume of his own stupidity. Furuya felt compelled to dry those tears away.

Could it be that simple? All this time, was he so blinded that he hadn't seen the truth? What if he was wrong, could he risk his heart to be exposed to another possible rejection?

Furuya watched the uncertainty and the vulnerability playing in Haruichi's eyes, and he knew, it was the only choice. The best choice. And If he was wrong, and he was destined to be rejected, then so be it. He couldn't hide it anymore.

Furuya looked straight into Haruichi eyes, making the other tensed.

Furuya smiled softly.

"Haruichi… I like you."

**...**

If you could replay a certain memory a hundred times, what memory will you choose? Haruichi finally found the answer. Probably, it'll be the image of Furuya-kun standing here in front of him. With a soft smile so out of place, and looking so hesitant, he uttered his name so softly as he confessed.

Haruichi couldn't think of any memories that could par to the happiness growing inside of him, rendering him completely speechless, and the lack of response from him was now starting to make Furuya feel dejected.

But what response should he say? What's the best way to convey his feelings, this happiness that sent his heart into twisting flops?

"I…" Furuya spoke, not meeting his eyes. "I…I guess that was sudden. I… I think…" He stole a glance towards him, and their eyes met.

Haruichi felt his whole body growing hot, flushing.

Furuya now was starting to think this wasn't such a good idea. Haruichi was now sporting a troubled expression on his face. With a blank face to cover up the pain, Furuya took a step back. "I think I better go." He spun and strode away briskly, trying to hide the disappointment and hurt in his face.

With his breath caught in his throat in panic, Haruichi snapped from his trance.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

_He's leaving!_

Not again. He's not going to suffer the feeling of being in an unrequited love ever again. Furuya-kun already confessed his feelings! It was now his turn!

'_Furuya-kun, wait!'_

Haruichi gave chase.

Fifty meters ahead of Haruichi, Furuya rubbed a hand over his face as he walked, doing his best to breathe out properly.

He was rejected. Haruichi didn't accept him. Haruichi rejected him.

Shit. It hurt more than he thought.

He pushed a flock of hair away from his eyes, blinking rapidly from the sudden wetness coming behind his lids. Ah geez. So fucking _hurt_.

"Furuya-kun!"

Furuya felt like his world suddenly stopped, rendering his feet, and all his entire being immobile. Hope started to blossom inside of him. He started to turn, still in disbelief of what he's hearing. But before he could fully turn around, Haruichi jumped.

Instinctively, Furuya snaked an arm around Haruichi's waist, curling his body around the other protectively as he tried to break their fall.

It was no use.

Haruichi used his entire weight to tackle him with an embrace, sending them both sprawling onto the ground. Furuya let out a muffled yelp as he was thrown flat with Haruichi on top of him.

"Ouch…E-Eh… Haruichi—?"

"Me too!" Haruichi burst out, his arms wrapped around Furuya tightly. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't respond earlier. I-I don't know what to say! I was just… so shocked… and so happy… I…" He buried his face deep in Furuya's neck, his arms tightening around him. "I'm so happy…" He whispered, voice clogged with tears.

Furuya felt his own throat tight with emotions, and he swallowed hard. Hugging Haruichi closer, Furuya buried his own face at the top of the pink hair he loved so much. "I thought…"

Haruichi tightened his arms, shaking. "I know! I know…"

Letting out a stuttering breath, Furuya sat upright, pulling the other into his lap. Loosening his arms around Haruichi, he cupped the smooth cheeks between his hands, and their eyes met. Furuya's heart hurt from the tears swimming in Haruichi eyes.

"Haruichi… Do you like me?" He asked quietly.

Haruichi grabbed the hands over his cheeks and nodded, smiling tearfully. "So much."

Furuya's eyes softened. "I know you don't belong to me, but I want all of you."

Haruichi shook his head. "I'm yours, no one else."

"Always?" Furuya touched his forehead against him, closing his eyes tightly.

Haruichi felt like his tears were never going to stop. Grabbing Furuya's cheeks with both his hands as well, Haruichi pulled Furuya towards him, capturing his lips in a scorching kiss.

Furuya's breathe hitched, surprised at the soft incessant lips pressing against him. But that didn't deter Haruichi to stop. Furuya confessed his love for him earlier courageously. This time, Haruichi will show him how much he loves him in return.

Now fully comprehending what's going on, Furuya felt the intense heat engulfing all his senses, blowing all this reasons away. Pulling Haruichi closer and flushed against his chest, Furuya took over, kissing him back deeply.

Haruichi let out a soft moan, and Furuya smiled between kisses. Nipping his bottom lip gently, Haruichi jerked from a jolt of pleasure running over his spine. Furuya swiped his tongue to soothe it, and Haruichi melted in his embrace.

The kiss lasted for a long time. Feeling all his breath leaving his lungs, Haruichi gasped softly and pulled away from the kiss, their breaths entwining together as the stared at each other eyes. Gasping breathlessly, Haruichi let out a small laugh, flushing furiously.

"See?" Haruichi spoke between harsh puffs of breath, giving Furuya another small kiss before continuing.

"Always…" He whispered softly.

Sharing another kiss, Furuya wished the time would stop, and they could stay like this forever.

Haruichi pulled a little away from the kiss, lips tingling deliciously as he smiled, and wiping the last remnant of tears away from his eyes. "You taste like chocolate." He murmured, diving in for another kiss.

Furuya hammed in affirmation. "I just ate Pocky earlier." He replied in a throaty voice, drawing out his words between kisses.

Haruichi pulled him closer. "I love Pocky."

**...**

"Eh… Ryo-san? Remember what you said." Kuramochi gave an awkward laugh, scratching his head uneasily. "No interfering."

Kuramochi cringed as the already burning aura surrounding the other him burned more angrily, almost to the point that he was already sweating bullets from all the heat. At this rate, he was going to lose ten pounds before he could escape. Ryo-san's burning aura's more effective than any sauna he had ever been to.

"That bastard Furuya. Try using your tongue again and I'm gonna cut it out for you." Ryosuke seethed, looking extremely murderous. Kuramochi was even tempted to rub an arm over his eyes just to prove that he didn't see any after image of _Jason_ holding an axe behind his senpai.

Wait. On a second thought, never mind. What if he rubbed his eyes and Ryo-san face completely turned into Jason? Kuramochi wasn't sure if he could stay in love with his senpai with a horrifying Jason mask covering his face. Better leave him be.

Love is blind, anyway. Blurred vision is sort of close in the category.

Kuramochi jerked upright when a voice spoke behind them.

"What are you doing here Kuramochi-senpai? Eh—? Onii-san?!" Sawamura looked ready to bolt away when he saw the fuming Ryosuke in front of Kuramochi. They were hiding behind the dorm building and watching the entire scene between Furuya and Haruichi.

"Oh! Sawamura!" Kuramochi stood from where he was crouching beside Ryosuke, smirking evilly as he swung an arm over his kohai's shoulder. "Oh, oh, oh! Congratulations! For being the most fantastic 'Innocent Bystander' of this love story, Good Job!" Kuramochi gave him a thumbs-up, cackling devilishly.

Sawamura blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

_Innocent Bystander who? Huh?_

(Someone please explain it to our Sawamura.)

Kuramochi cackled harder. This idiot wasn't even aware that he was involved in a love triangle.

"So…" Kuramochi grinned, calming himself a little. "How's the feeling of being the receiver of one of the best flying kick I've seen besides Jackie Chan?" Kuramochi couldn't help it anymore, and he doubled-over laughing. Oh, God. Just remembering the looks on their faces when Haruichi performed that kick was enough to send him into a complete hysterics.

"What the hell, Kuramochi-senpai! You were watching earlier!? Then why didn't you help me!" Sawamura ganged up on him, fisting the front of his shirt angrily.

Kuramochi's laugh turned into giggling fits. "Sorry, sorry. But we were sort of busy since Ryo-san suddenly ran off to his brother. Can't be helped. Well… so… how's the nose?" Once again, Kuramochi slumped over at Sawamura as he laughed harder.

"I'm going to kill Furuya tomorrow!" Sawamura hissed. "And what the hell? Is Harucchi's not a reincarnation of a horse or something? That kick nearly killed—Ughof!" It was now Sawamura's turn to double-over from the kick that came out of nowhere and straight into his stomach.

"Ryo-san…" Kuramochi sweat dropped, watching his partner stomping away angrily. So much for not interfering, geez. Kuramochi turned towards his kohai, who was now sprawled on the ground groaning and clutching his stomach

"You okay there, Sawamura?"

"W-What do ya think?" The first-year hissed back sarcastically.

Kuramochi grinned. "You look cozy."

Well let's just say, Miyuki was pretty pissed off the next day as he demanded who marred not only Sawamura's gorgeous face, but his delicious-looking abs as well.

**...**

**Chapter Nine: **_**A Pocky-Flavored Kiss**_

_End of Chapter…_

* * *

A/N: I wanted to make their story a bit different from the others but… Waaaaaah…! I made my adorable Haruichi suffer in this story! Just stab me now! (T_T)…

PS: To those who have no idea what Pocky is, it's a biscuit stick covered in chocolate and a popular Japanese snack, though I'm not sure if it originates from there. Oh, well. I love it anyway.


	12. Chapter 10

**The Catcher and the Pitcher**

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

Sawamura Eijun squirmed; his breathing coming out in small puffs. _Wha—what is this? This nice, fuzzy feelings? This—this—_

_Ah! A-Again—!_

He squirmed some more. He tried to move away, but _it_ came back earnestly to torment him with it's—

_Uhm!_

_So… so hot…_

_ Oh God…_

Sawamura couldn't help but let out a moan.

_Hot… sweltering hot…_

_ …and so wet…_

_ …so unbelievably wet..._

…_there's something... tickling my… something hot…and… wet…playing…moving… slithering… all over my…_

…_hmmm…_

…_feels… feels so… so good… _

_Oh God it feels so good!_

'_**Sawamura…'**_

_W-Who? What—Ah! No… not there… don't touch me there..! aahh... Stop… licking… uhm…_

'_**Sawamura…'**_

_W-who are y-you…?_

'_**Eijun…'**_

_E-Eh…? M-My name…? _

'_**Eijun…'**_

_This voice…y-you are…_

'_**D'you like it?'**_

…_M-Miyuki…?_

'_**Feels good?'**_

_N-No… stop… c-can't…_

'_**What about here…?'**_

_I s-said d-don't… A-Ah! Miyuki…! It's t-ticklish…_

'_**Heeh… and what about here…?'**_

_Hmmm…no…_

'_**And…here..?'**_

_I-I said… no… s-stop...or I-I'm g-going to… I'm g-going t-to…uhn!_

'_**What about here—? Do you like me touching you here?'**_

"_L-Like I said—s-stop…I-I'm…I'm…I'm _GOING TO KILL YOU, TEME!" Sawamura snapped his eyes open, breathing heavily as he grabbed Miyuki over his neckline and proceeded to crossly strangle the smirking catcher he now realized hovering over him while he slept.

"What the hell are you doing here in our room, you stupid megane?! What time do you think it is?" He hissed, trying desperately to cover up his breathless state with his anger. He can still feel the hot and wet sensations of Miyuki's tongue slithering inside his ear; biting the lobe playfully, licking him _oh so_ deliciously that the tingling sensations were still lingering strongly all over his body.

Sawamura still felt like he was burning.

Miyuki let out a choked chuckle, pulling Sawamura's resisting hands away from his shirt as he blew on his ears, sparing him a heated glance. "Had a pleasant dream?" Miyuki whispered huskily, his breath fanning dangerously close to Sawamura's still wet and _still _so sensitive ear again. Sawamura tried to jerk away, ignoring the slice of heat that ran through his stomach, but he then realized that he was trapped tightly in Miyuki's embrace. The other was straddling him securely on his bed that Sawamura couldn't even move any of his limbs.

Miyuki smirked from his position on top of him, his lips daunting the skin under the lobe of Sawamura's ear. The thought of whether Miyuki will close the gap and touch his skin with his lips or not, sent an undeniable anticipation coiling inside of Sawamura. The muscles on his stomach tightened, and he started to squirm, panting.

"B-Bastard, what are you trying to pull here? Kuramochi-senpai and Masuko-senpai could wake up any moment!" He spared Masuko-senpai a nervous glance, hoping that his voice hadn't been carried out towards him. His senpai's even breathing and loud snore ascertained his slumber state.

Miyuki, on the other hand, didn't respond. Instead, Sawamura felt a hand sneak in inside of his shirt. Gaping in disbelief, Sawamura struggled helplessly, but Miyuki's other hand grasped both of his wrist and pinned them over his head. Sawamura's eyes grew large from his now vulnerable position.

Miyuki smirked down at him. Sawamura shook his head, his eyes now pleading the other to stop.

"Now, now… What should I do first?" Miyuki teased in a quiet voice. Closing in on Sawamura once again, Miyuki bit his chin playfully, dragging his tongue over it to soothe the momentary pain and at the same time, sending Sawamura's body in a feverish anticipation.

"M-Miyuki—! If this is some kind of joke then I really—ah!" With feather light touches, Miyuki slipped his hand over his chest, gliding his palm deliberately slow over the flat of his stomach. In every skin he touched, a tingling heat followed, leaving Sawamura trembling. When Miyuki's thumb slid further and grazed his left nipple ever so slightly, Sawamura started to panic. He could finally feel his body starting to respond from the teasing touches.

His pajama suddenly felt tight.

"H-Hey—s-stop it—! Honestly—this is r-really not funn— Ah—! Miyu—!" Sawamura bit his lower lip tightly as he tried to cover up the loud gasp that nearly slipped out of his mouth. Miyuki's smirk widened, and he flicked the tip of his thumb's nail over Sawamura's left nipple once again, ever so playful. Sawamura couldn't help but close his eyes from the pleasurable sensations invading his body, the heat now pooling dangerously down to his groin.

_Oh shit, oh no, oh no, no, no…_

"M-Miyuki… p-please… I-I… s-stop…it…" He panted; now ready to beg just to stop the catcher.

But Miyuki didn't listen. Slithering his tongue even lower, Miyuki started licking, biting and sucking down to his neck, teasing the smooth skin as he went lower. Sawamura instinctively exposed his neck silently asking for more, his body now felt like it's was burning in pleasurable fire. In response, Miyuki sucked hard, leaving a mark so red and raw, Sawamura felt like it going to start to bleed.

Sawamura moaned out loud.

"Shhh… You're going to wake them up if you get any louder." Miyuki whispered over his ear, blowing a hot breath teasingly as he grinded his body against Sawamura closer. Sawamura let out a muffled groan. He could feel Miyuki's desire nudging on his leg. His body responded accordingly, and he could feel his own hardness grinding back against Miyuki.

_Oh god, oh my god… _

"Y-You—really n-need to s-stop n-now… uhmm… Miyuki n-no—! Not— p-please—!" Sawamura jolted when Miyuki's hand that was once teasing his nipple glided even lower. Sawamura let out a stutter breath when Miyuki started rubbing the skin over the rim of his pajama playfully, his nails scraping and gliding in circles. With his heart racing, Sawamura started to struggle once again, but Miyuki merely tightened his grip around his own.

Sawamura let out a whimper. Miyuki eyes softened, and he licked the corner of Sawamura's lips soothingly.

"Don't you know? In this situation, when one said no—" The catcher smirked lazily, "— it means _**yes**_." Miyuki murmured, his voice full of strained desire. His fingertips now started to slip on the rim of his pajama. Sawamura's heart jumped, his stomach coiling in tension and anticipation. Miyuki pulled his head back a little from licking his neck and looked down at him, his eyes dazed with yearning. Sawamura knew he had the same look on his face. Miyuki looked at him straight in his eyes and they stared at each other. Sawamura couldn't drag his eyes away, both of them breathing heavily.

Miyuki smiled and lowered his lips mere inch away from Sawamura's, their heated breaths mingling deliciously. He spoke, his voice coming out a bit rough. "Sawamura…" he whispered, slipping his hand down Sawamura's pajama a bit lower. "Can I—?"

With his breath hitching, Sawamura felt the goose bumps broke out of his skin. Miyuki skimming his fingertips over his skin and so close to his groin was just too much for him to handle. He started writhing, his breath clamping heavily on his chest. "M-Miyuki—"

Miyuki lowered his head and bit his lobe, brushing his hard desire on Sawamura's hip insistently. "Please…?"

And just like that, Sawamura melted; arching his back as he silently gave in his permission.

Miyuki didn't waste any time.

"Sawamura…" With voice so rough and husky, Miyuki slipped his hand even lower, his fingers started playing lazily on Sawamura's pubes.

"Uhn!"

"Shhhh…" Miyuki let out a stutter breath as they stared at each other. Ever slowly, Miyuki slid his hand further and further until finally, Miyuki found his shaft, his hand grasping Sawamura hardness in a surprisingly gentle touch.

Sawamura sucked in his breath, biting his lower lip so hard he felt like it may just bleed. Writhing, he tried to pull his hands trapped from Miyuki's hand over his head, Sawamura's eyes closed from the delicious fire now running all over his body. He could feel his whole body flushing so deeply he felt like he was going to burst. "M-Miyuki—"

"Sawamura…" Miyuki murmured, his voice fading a little as the hand holding his member started to move.

"M-Miyuki…" Trembling, Sawamura moaned in response. He helplessly tried to move his hips aching for more.

"Sawamura…"

"Miyuki…"

"Sawamu…"

"M-Mi—"

"Sawa—"

_Eh?_

"**Oiiiiii, Sawamura…."**

_Huh? Eh?_

"**Oiiiiiii, Oiiiiii, Sawamura—"**

_Huh? Huh? M-Miyuki—?_

"**OI! BAKAMURA! WAKE UP!"**

_Eeeehhhhh?!_

Sawamura jerked upright from his bed, eyes wide and disoriented. Panting, he looked around and saw Kuramochi looking down at him, his senpai's brows twitching like crazy.

Sawamura blinked, pushing the hazy fog clouding his brain. "K-Kuramochi-senpai…? E-Eh? Where—?" _Where's Miyuki?_

Sawamura just then felt a flash of pain run through his body from his leg. Looking down, he saw Kuramochi's leg aiming to kick him once more. He suddenly realized that his senpai probably kicked him awake.

That means…

Oh Shit— Tha—That was just dream? _Everything_ that happened now was all _just_ a dream?!

Sawamura flushed from the onslaught of images coming back to him.

"BA-KA-MU-RA." Kuramochi spoke in a dark voice, and Sawamura jolted and turned towards him in apprehension. Kuramochi eyes flushed dangerously. "You have some nerve to wake me up this early with your stupid _wet dreams_. Calling out that bastard's name over and over and over _and over _again—" Kuramochi cracked his knuckles. "I'm Going To Kill You."

"Wai—! Wait a minute senpai—!" Sawamura couldn't finish his words, and Kuramochi aimed a kick over his head. Sawamura ducked and bolted away from the bed. In panic, he forgot something _really_ important.

Kuramochi's face immediately turned sour.

"Let's forget about killing you, huh? I'm going to crush you into tiny tidbit pieces just from showing _that_ to me." Kuramochi growled.

"Eh?" Sawamura blinked back at him, his back flat to the door in case he needed to run outside.

Kuramochi twitched. With an irritated vein ready to burst on his forehead, Kuramochi pointed at his own crotch and looked at Sawamura's pointedly with a raised brow.

Sawamura blinked some more.

Huh? Nani—?

And then he froze.

_It can't be—_

Slowly, oh _so _slowly… he looked down at his groin.

Aaaaaand… what he _saw _nearly made him faint.

_What the fuck—?_

Wet spots. He's sporting _wet spots_. And not just simple wet spots. He—

Sawamura blanched.

He actually _came._

_Son of a bitch!_

Still perplexed from what he was seeing, Sawamura hadn't notice Kuramochi stomping towards him. He let out a surprised yelp when Kuramochi cuffed him over his neck, at the same time opening their room's door behind him. Without warning, Kuramochi shoved him outside. Sawamura's eyes went wide.

"E-Eto—senpai?" He asked nervously, the cold from an early morning now starting to cling on to his skin.

Kuramochi smirked and waved. "Don't come back until you get rid of _that_, understand?" And without saying another word, Kuramochi slammed the door close in Sawamura's face.

EH?

"Wha— Senpai!" Sawamura called out loud in panic, banging at the door and nearly knocking it down anxiously. Shit. Shit, shit, shit!

What if someone saw him in this state? He wouldn't be able live it down. He was now starting to feel vulnerable outside wearing only his pajamas.

Not to mentioned, a pajama with wet spots.

_Gyaaahhh!_

"Senpai—!" Sawamura knocked harder, getting more frantic.

No one answered. Sawamura let out a pathetic sound.

"S-Senpai—! Onegai! Just let me take some change of clothes! Ne, senpai—!"

Still nothing.

"Wahhhh! Senpai you idiot! Please—! I can't walk arou—" Sawamura finally heard the lock clicked from the inside. He was about to let out a sigh of relief when the door opened in a flash and a set of clothes consists of a shirt and a jersey were shoved straight to his face. Sawamura spluttered as he caught the clothes, barely saving them from falling out of his hands.

"Eh?" He blinked down at the garments. Looking up, he flinched when at the second time that morning; the door was shut close to his face.

"Ehhh? T-This—"

"Good luck with your shower!" Kuramochi's called out from the inside, his voice sounded so evil in his ears.

The blood drained from his face. Sawamura whimpered as he clutched the clothes close to his chest. "Senpai you're so cruel! Baka! You—you— M-Monkey! Octopus! Game maniac! Pervert! Youkai! You—"

"Try saying another word and you're going to regret it, Bakamura!"

"—Glutton Demon-Face Cheetah!"

"TEME—!"

He didn't wait for his senpai to rush out of the door. Sawamura made a run for it.

"Kuramochi-senpai, you big idiot!" He wailed." You didn't even give me underwear!"

* * *

Kuramochi gritted his teeth, his hands gripping the door tightly as he watched his kohai running away awkwardly. Sawamura was fleeing with the clothes secured within one of his arm, while the other was clutching the front of his crotch as he looked around anxiously, trying to hide the wet spots. Despite his irritation, Kuramochi couldn't help being amused with the scene.

"Aren't you being a little harsh Kuramochi-chan?"

Kuramochi turned towards Masuko, his momentary amusement gone and his eyes glinting darkly. "That idiot deserved it. Groaning and moaning like that in his sleep. Stupid brat." Like hell he was just going to let that go. Just remembering Sawamura's panting and groaning in his sleep was enough to make his blood boil. He couldn't help but actually imagine that bastard Miyuki devouring their kohai with that stupid grin of his, no doubt.

And _that_ pisses him off even more.

An irritated vein popped on Kuramochi's forehead. Masuko nearly jumped when the other suddenly snarled in an angry voice.

"AHHHHHH! I want to kick something really hard! I want to _**HIT**_someone!" The shortstop banged his fist on the door, gritting his teeth. "Son of a bitch, I'm going to _**KILL **_Miyuki later!" Kuramochi snapped.

Masuko stood from his bed and strode beside him at the door, watching their kohai from the distance as well.

Their little sunshine.

Their _no longer_ so innocent idiotic little sunshine.

Running away… with _wet spots_ on his crotch. And definitely not with a _little_ and _limp_ _mini-_Sawamura.

Masuko's hands twitched. "If you're going to kill him, make it _hurt _a little, yeah?" He deadpanned, now also remembering Sawamura loud moaning earlier in his sleep and calling out Miyuki's name in gasping breath. It was now Masuko's turn to feel like crushing something hard. "On a second thought—" He went on, a bit irritated himself. "Make it _HURT_ a _lot._"

Kuramochi threw him a pointed look and they stared at each other. Both coming up in an agreement, Kuramochi smiled devilishly.

"Leave it to me."

* * *

Sawamura pulled at the hem of his uniform while he walked towards his class alone, unconsciously still trying to hide the front of his crotch as he yet again cursed Kuramochi-senpai for the hundredth times that morning. He couldn't believe his sadistic senpai actually send him away from their room in that kind of condition. Sawamura couldn't forget what he went through just to get to the bathroom safely earlier.

It was almost like hell when he nearly had a run-in with Jun-senpai and Ryo-senpai, who by God-knows-what, decided an early start of training this morning. If the recycle bin wasn't standing close earlier, they would have caught him scurrying about sporting wet spots. God forbid, but Jun-senpai will surely spread the word to their other teammates faster than the speed of light gleefully, and onii-san would gain a lifetime worth of blackmail material that Sawamura's terrified he may just become his slave forever. Sawamura could feel a cold sweat running down his spine just thinking about it.

And that wasn't the worst of it. Oh no, no, no.

The worst was when someone tapped him on his shoulder while he was hiding from the two senpais and Sawamura, looking up in dread found Coach Kataoka and Tetsu looming down at him with curiosity, their brows raised as they watched him like he had finally lost his mind. Sawamura actually thought he was going to lost it right there and then.

Fuck, the humiliation! Thank God they believed him when he stuttered that he was only looking for something he lost the other night, and both his Coach and Captain went on their merry way without finding out the wets spots he was sporting. If they discovered about it…

He shuddered. Oh shit, the horror of that possibility.

In the first place, what had gotten into him dreaming something… so…so…err…

Sawamura blushed, feeling the heat started spreading to the tip of his ears.

No, no, no, not the ears! Shit, these stupid ears! Sawamura could still feel the ghost of feeling of something hot and lithe nibbling on them…caressing them… making them feel… feel… so frustratingly w-w-wet—

Gyaaahhh!

Sawamura crouched down to his knees, rubbing his ears furiously, and at the same time trying to control the blood pooling to his cheeks (and admittedly downwards too).

No, no, no, no please…

How could he ever stand beside Miyuki with a straight face ever again? What if Miyuki found out about his dream? He's going to think that he's a pervert! And he's definitely going to find out! Glutton Demon-Face Cheetah-_senpai _will absolutely tell him about it!

Sawamura felt like he's going to faint. He's finished.

What is he going to d—

"Arara, my, isn't it Eijun-chan?"

And just like that, everything around Sawamura froze. His heart jumped to his throat, and his entire body stiffened to the point that he almost stopped breathing.

Wha— it couldn't be—

"What are you doing crouching down like that? Are you in pain?" Mika's voice sounded worried as she approached the first-year, squatting in front of him as well. "You okay, Eijun-chan?"

No way. No Way. This isn't happening.

"Eijun-chan? Oiiii— Ne, Eijun-chan? You okay? Can you hear me?"

Sawamura felt like his body turned as heavy as lead. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, and he was even having a hard time answering back. His tongue felt like they got stuck down to his throat, the heaviness blossoming from his chest pulling down his ability to speak. It reminded him of each time Kuramochi-senpai strangling him as they wrestle. He felt like he was choking.

No, more like choking and _panicking_.

What the hell—? Why is she here?!

"Eto… Eijun-chan?"

Sawamura swallowed hard, trying to regain his voice. Closing his eyes tightly for a second to regain his composure, Sawamura let out a small breath and opened his eyes slowly, looking back up to his unknown _rival, _meeting her eyes boldly in an attempt to act normal.

What he saw nearly made him gritted his teeth. What rival? When it comes to appearance, Mika-senpai won gorgeously, hands down.

Sawamura berated himself. This isn't the right time to become stupidly hang up about looks. He needed to pull himself together or he will surely lose.

But despite his internal argument, Sawamura couldn't help a stutter as he spoke. "Mika-senpai…" He acknowledged her presence and tried to smile cheerfully, but it came out a bit strained and Sawamura looked like he was grimacing.

Mika lifted one of her delicate brow, noting how tense the other as he faced her. Eijun-chan cleared his throat as he once again swallowed hard, acting like he was facing someone he was most certainly not comfortable being with. Mika brow's twitched, intrigued.

_Interesting…_

Shaking her head a little, she once again gave him a small smile, one full of concern and subdued innocence. "Are you okay? You look pale." Mika grabbed his upper arm with an intention to help him up, but she felt him stiffening under her touch. Trying to hide her own thoughts and confused suspicions under her disarming smile, Mika didn't pull he grasp away. Her silent insistence making the other stood in hesitation.

"Thanks." Sawamura muttered, moving a step away to keep his distance.

Stunned, Mika shot her kouhai another look one of cool surprise. When Sawamura turned towards her with a wary look, Mika immediately schooled her face, her usual small smile gracing her lips. Secretly, her eyes became sharp, discerning the younger man before her, observing every little detail of him for the first time.

What was that all about? That feeling like he knows something about her? Like he _hates_ something about her?

They only met each other once. As far as she knows, he's only an idiotic first-year pitcher that was unbelievably too full of himself. But regardless, Mika knew he was the type of person who was usually friendly; too friendly that sometimes other found him irritating. So what with the cold and dismissive attitude towards her?

Huh. _Interesting_. That's twice in row for her to actually think like that.

"Feeling better?" She inquired smoothly.

Sawamura gave a curt nod. "Yeah." He fidgeted, tucking his bag close to his chest like he was putting some kind of barrier between them. Mika observed the action, her brows lifting once more. Sawamura's throat bobbed as he swallowed, trying to hide his discomfort. "So… err… what can I do for you senpai?"

She blinked, suddenly reminded of the reason why she's sought out the first-year. "Eh? Oh! Actually…" Disregarding his astonished reaction, Mika snatched one of Sawamura's arms, pulling it close to her chest as she gave him one of her most charming smile, one she knew other men couldn't say no to. "Nee… Eijun-chan. I have a favor to ask. Can you listen for a while?"

Sawamura couldn't help but become frozen in her hold, his mind turning upside down. He couldn't believe that he was in a middle of a pathway leading towards his class, all alone with the most terrifying coincidence of meeting the girl whose relationship with the person he likes remain a mystery and in itself making this situation shitty as hell. Not to mentioned her pushing her full breast on his arm like it was the most gratifying thing ever and Sawamura felt like he was going to faint from all the horror.

Haha. This is just so fucking unbelievable.

_Just kill me now, why don't you?_

Feeling unappreciated, Mika gripped his upper arm a bit tighter, leaning her entire body towards him with a sly smile on her lips.

"Nee, Eijun-chan, onegai?"

Sawamura squirmed from her hold, pulling his arm casually as he laughed nervously, "Ahahaha… mah.. e-eto.. sure, I guess." He took a step back, now hugging his bag tighter in defense from any unforeseen _sexual harassment._

Mika once again twitched, hiding her astonishment and watched as the distance between them widen another foot.

_This guy… No way…_

She glanced back at him, blinking. Huh. Okay, guess plan A is not working impressively. Is he already involved with someone else? It happened a few times with other men, but she was pretty sure no one had ever turned down her _charismatic _smile before. The way Eijun-chan was acting towards her, you'll think she hadn't showered for an entire month and stinking all over the place.

_Hah. For your information, I enjoyed milk bath every day! _But despite her silent indignant whine, she sniff herself secretly, sighing in relief that she smelled just good as she claimed. Mika turned towards her companion, now a bit wary to come near him. He's a guy, right? He's a guy, one hundred percent. He's just an idiot. Yeah okay, let's proceed to Plan B, shall we? The more time she stayed in his presence, the thinner her confidence turning out to be.

Moving towards the cautions pitcher for the second time, Mika clapped her hands softly in front of her, using all the charm she possess under her belt and smiled the most cutest and innocent smile she could actually pull off without grimacing, her half-lidded eyes now looking heavily seductive and she tilted her head in a pose every _otakus_ out there would die of _moe overload_ just from witnessing it. Mika giggled softly.

_This time for sure, he's mine!_

In a very sultry voice, Mika tried to spoke cutely. "Nee, nee… Eijun-chan, I want to meet someone in your club… Can you call him for me? Nee… It's okay, right? It's wouldn't be too much trouble. If you want—" Mika winked. "I can do something for you in exchange. Neee…" Mika gave him a girlish grin.

She was so busy in her act that she didn't even bother to look at the pitcher's reaction. Sawamura muscles became tense. And when Mika bit her lower lip in contemplation, trying to show off her full, and oh so kissable lips, Sawamura finally lost it.

"You know him. He's the catcher in your team. His name's Mi—"

But Mika hadn't been able to finish her sentence. With too much dust following on his wake that it nearly made her choke, Sawamura made a hasty retreat away from her, walking away backwards as he look at her with a horrified expression, his eyes wide, and cringing at her for all his worth.

Mika blinked as she gaped back at him. Her pouting lips frozen on her face.

"Eijun-cha—?"

Sawamura's horrified expression almost doubled as he shrieked. "Y—You—! Don't smile at me like that! You're being c-creepy! It's old school! Are you an idiot!? They don't even do that in shoujo manga anymore! Y-You—! You're underestimating shoujo manga, aren't you?!" He glared, looking more and more indignant. "Don't you dare underestimate someone who read all the 26 volumes of '_Everlasting Love' _ahou! Are you underestimating me?!" He yelled, clearly appalled of her behavior.

Mika started sputtering. Eyes almost popping out from their sockets, her mind swirled in all the possible snarky response she could think of to rebuff those stupid accusations. But for once in her life, she felt like she actually lost her ability to speak.

"Wha—"

Sawamura snorted. "Hah! I can even do _that_ better than you! You don't look sexy at all! Should I train you?" He huffed, now completely forgetting who she actually was and why he was even wary of seeing her at the moment.

She was just a fake _moe_! Hah! No way was he going to lose to her! Miyuki or Shoujo aside!

Feeling a vein popping on her forehead, Mika felt her patience finally snapped, her face contorting in a murderous glower that nearly made Sawamura cringed.

"This is so stupid!" She shrieked back, making Sawamura took another step back from her in stunned silence, suddenly remembering who she was in the first place. Mika took a threatening step towards him, her own aura scalding hot. "I know you're an idiot, but I can't believe you're actually this big of an idiot! I can't believe this!" Mika stomped a foot, her hands flailing in every direction as her mouth fired off everything that comes to mind. "Look here! See?! I'm actually pretty if you hadn't notice! Are you a virgin or what?! Wait no; don't answer me because I already know!" She snarled sarcastically.

It was now Sawamura's turn to gaped back at her in disbelief. He was incensed. He opened and closed his mouth, trying desperately to come up with anything to say. He was probably the worst in English, but he was well-versed with sarcasm just as well, you know! Cheetah-senpai was born full of it. Sawamura had a momentary distraction of imaging Kuramochi as a newborn baby munching on a little harmless book entitled 'Sarcasm; Aim at Bullying Your Kouhais. First Edition,' but he desperately pushed the thought away. Instead, he focused his attention on Mika words, completely offended. She didn't just said—!

Ha! Bring it on, kura!

On the other side, Mika was abruptly snapped back from her sudden outburst, clearly realizing too late what she had done. Ah crap. Why did she have to open her stupid mouth? She's ruining all her plans.

But she couldn't help it! This guy made her want to reveal her true colors. He was so irritating, Mika wanted to kick him to the farthest country she could think of. Possibly as far as the North Pole.

Right. Not _necessarily_ a country then.

Mika inhaled, trying to calm herself. Yeah, okay. Relax. She can still salvage the situation. He's an idiot. Nothing to worry about. Just be calm. Inhale… exhale...

Good. Once more.

Inhale… and another inhale… and yes, another inhale… gulp… exhale…

Whew.

Mika turned towards the other, pushing her now messy hair away from her eyes. Finally finding in herself a semblance of calm, she let out another deep sigh. Mika shoot Sawamura a wry smile, her voice coming out as calm as she could manage. " Ahahaha… E-Eto… Gomen Eijun-chan, I didn't mea—"

But _surprisingly_—Mika twitched— she was once again _crudely_ interrupted.

With his eyes burning from what he deemed was a challenge to his manhood—And he was proud of his _size,_ thank you very much—(Although no one was sure how he drew to that conclusion about challenged _manhood_, but yeah, whatever)—Sawamura's own fighting aura exploded all over the place, blazing hotly. Sawamura turned towards her and snarled, completely pissed off.

"Who are you calling a vir—! Baka! baka! Just so you know—! I-I—I'm a man of great experience! I'd read the Bible of all the shoujo manga! A-and—! Hah! You don't know what you're talking about—! I'm a man of great experience! I'm being pursued by so many g-girls! I'm the future ace! A-and—yes! I'm a man of great experie—!"

"Yeah, you've said that already. Like three times." Mika deadpanned, trying to control her twitching brows. She watched as the first-year's fighting spirit was starting to diffuse as he stumble on his words, clearly not sure what he's talking about anymore. And wait, is he turning small?

Err… no. He was just slowly walking backwards again. Away from her.

Mika sweat dropped, letting out a small exasperated sigh.

Sawamura was now stuttering, fumbling with his words as he hugged his bag tighter, trying not to look defensive. _E...Eto… A-Aree? What was it again?_ Gaaah! Shit! Why was he even here in the first place!? Without thinking, he shouted the first things that came out to mind. He pointed his finger towards her, her voice a bit accusatory.

"A-And don't you dare forget the great me could—! I'm a man of great experience! And— and—No way will I **GIVE** Miyuki up to you, you—you—eto… You—SENPAI from his past! No, I mean my _senpai _now from his past! No—! Huh? Aree? Aahhh! Whatever senpai from whatever past! Hah! I'm not going to lose! And—and—I'm not going to—Err… And I'm not—I'm not—" _Kuso!_ He had nothing more else to add! Shit, at this rate he's going to lose to her!

Hah! Like hell! He's a man of great experience! Just this morning he's—

Sawamura suddenly blanched. Just remembering what happened this morning; or more specifically his _dream_ of Miyuki's wicked tongue turning him into a pile of goo, Sawamura completely flushed scarlet. One thing is for sure. His ears were no longer a virgin!

Shit! Does that mean—? Nooooo! Sawamura shouted his next words out of embarrassment and pride, too agitated to think anymore than he already was force to do so.

"—and I'm no longer a **VIRGIN**! You old-hag shoujo- senpai!" Sawamura barked, puffing his chest for a minute, and amazingly proceeded to hightail out of there in a flash, blushing from what he assumed was a biggest confession of his feelings.

_Crap. This is so fucking embarrassing!_

Sawamura sprinted towards his building, combusting from the combination of indignation and, in his utter horror, arousal. Within moments he was gone, leaving his rival in dust.

Mika, for all her mental capacity to speak, finally made a move and blinked slowly.

And she blinked some more. And once more. And more and more _aaaand_ more. As she watched the other running away in a hurry, Mika tried to process what she thought the young pitcher shouted just now.

Not going to lose—? Give up Miyuki—? _Virgin—?_

Eijun-chan. Not Virgin. Miyuki. Give up?

Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping.

Eh? Aree— Ehhhh? Wha—Ehhh? Did she actually hear that right?

Huh?

Mika pinched herself. Yup. Not sleeping.

No drooling and no morning breath either.

Huh. Hahahaha. Hahahahaha.

Haaaa…

'_**That BASTARD!' **_

* * *

Miyuki needed five minutes. No, three minutes. Yeah okay, just _one_ minute. Just one minute to explain and Miyuki knew he'll get through Sawamura's iron-clad defense. One minute so he could kiss the living out of Sawamura and make that ever-loud pitcher to shut up and listen to him so he can finally apologize.

Simple. The most effective plan to woo his pitcher again. With the kiss as a plus, yes.

Perfect. Haha.

_Yeah right._

Miyuki sighed as he walked. Now that it bell rung for lunch, his feet started taking him towards the first year's classrooms. Adjusting his glasses over his eyes, he tried not to once again pinch the bridge of his nose because he knew it will only reveal his anxiety.

Since from the beginning, Sawamura's ability to make him feel stressed out was probably the most admirable thing the pitcher practically excelled at.

And Miyuki adored him more for it, dammit.

And shit, he _missed_ him more for it.

His pitcher was still mad at him this morning. Even after he discovered his bruises and mysterious black-eye, (Which by the way meant someone is going to die before the day is over) Sawamura blushed furiously and swatted his hand away when he tried reach for his injury (and suspiciously tugged his shirt on his front). Miyuki hated to admit it but the rejection stung.

He wanted to hold him just as always.

And who the hell hurt him anyway? No one was talking, although Kuramochi's cackling was highly suspicious that Miyuki wanted to grab his teammate and wring his neck like a rag just to drag the truth from him. The son-of-a-bitch better be grateful of Chris-senpai and Nori taking his attention away or there would have been bloody loose teeth Ryo-san had to pick from the floor. Okay, not really. Just a tooth will be acceptable, or the second-baseman might just pull Miyuki's perfectly aligned teeth in sadistic glee too.

His glower deepened. Fine. He was going to drag the answers from Sawamura's own mouth even if he had to use any possible appendages available— probably a tongue—

"ERO-CATCHER SURPRISE KICK!" A voice suddenly boomed, causing the entire students milling about the hallway to jump and turned towards the source of the yell, their eyes wide.

Miyuki on the other hand, ducked away hastily, trusting his instinct to dodge away from the oncoming danger. He was already use of the familiar shout and the accompanying kick that barely missed the back of his head.

Kuramochi eyes bugged out when he realized that his foot missed its target and unintentionally, connected to the passing first-year's jaw beside them, sending the young man flying to the end of the hallway. Some of the student yelped, while the others gaped in utter astonishment.

Kuramochi landed on his feet and blinked. "Ah."

"Waaah! Sakaki! Are you okay!?" One of the first-year's friends called out in frantic, rushing towards his now passed out friend. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" He shouted at Kuramochi, while he and his other friends shook their fallen friend from the cold floor.

Before Kuramochi could answer and stutter an apology, an arm that suddenly appeared around his neck nearly made him choked. Miyuki smirked, a throbbing vein dangerously close to bursting now visible on his forehead. "Kuramochi, teme. I'm in bad mood right now, you know, and you're not exactly in my Friend's List today. And what 'surprise kick'? You practically shouted it out loud." He growled.

Kuramochi recovered from his shock. Struggling to pull the pressing arm around his neck, his own vein throbbed in irritation. He smirked back. "TEME Ero-Catcher. You have some guts attacking me from behind. I'm going to enjoy kicking you ass." He growled back just as viciously.

"You're the one who attack me from behind first!" Miyuki gritted out. "And who are you calling_ Ero-Catcher?" _He demanded, at the same time defending a foot from being stomp by his friend.

They were now making a spectacle of struggling with their arms, Miyuki choking the other tighter, and Kuramochi fighting back from the chokehold. The other first-years watched in alarm, trying desperately to think of a way to diffuse the fight.

The shortstop huff a laugh, completely annoyed that he was starting to lose the battle to get free. Shit. This stupid megane was surprisingly too strong. No wonder he can throw those supersonic pass during games.

"You deserved it, asshole. I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU. D'you had any idea what I went through this morning, you bastard? I'm going to pummel you to the ground and enjoy every minute of it." With a twist of his free arm, Kuramochi drilled his elbow in Miyuki's plexus, sending the catcher stumbling backward.

He smirked and faced the other, readying his stance to kick the catcher for real this time. "You're too early to think you can defeat me in a fight, kunoyarou."

Miyuki frowned as he rubbed his aching stomach. "What the hell are you talking about just now?" He demanded.

Grinding his teeth, Kuramochi shot his foot in a kick, Miyuki yet again ducking just in time. Kuramochi clucked his tongue and tried another one, this one aiming at Miyuki's side. Miyuki seized his leg just in time and pulled, aiming his own kick towards Kuramochi stomach as well. Kuramochi grunted and yanked his leg free from the hold before the kick connected. Shifting his head to the side, the irritation was now gone from his face and Kuramochi started to grin. "Not bad, asshole."

With a small smile tugging on his own lips, Miyuki replied, "You too. As expected."

Nearby, all the first-year students watched bewildered as the two famous senpais started a kick-boxing match in the middle of the hallway; they were torn between letting them continue given that it wasn't everyday they've encountered such a live _demonstration _of a pathetic attempt to fight, or called one of the teachers to stop the two idiots from sending flying kicks and punches that, unfortunately, landed in _different _body parts of some of the spectators.

Although seeing the matching grins on both their faces, they all decided that the reasons behind the pitiable fight were probably just as pathetic, and begrudgingly let them carry on. Not to mention the girls were having a field day watching every minute of it and were probably just waiting for the right timing to appeal themselves to the two baseball regulars. The two was famous enough to garner the attention of all the female population, enough that once Ryo-san (and probably Sawamura) found out about it, they would surely bring down hell to anyone who even thought of trying to make a move. The guys hoped no one dared. Ryo-san wasn't particularly famous with just his looks and Sawamura's was an absolute _horror _to deal with.

"Stay still, Miyuki! Just let me kick you so we can get this over with!"

"Ahou ka! Who's going to do that!"

"Why are you even fighting with me teme! This is so out of character, even for you! You, Ero-Catcher!"

"I told you, didn't I? I'm in a bad mood right now! And who are you calling Ero-catcher!"

"Who else!? You probably did something to Sawamura, didn't you! You're so dead!"

"Huh!?"

Kuramochi and Miyuki both tensed, readying to spring at each other and continue their match.

Kuramochi sneered. I'm going to—Ah—!"

"Bring it on—Gah—!"

All the spectators gulped nervously and winced when out of nowhere; two figures ran forward and kicked each of the fighting players at the back of their head, sending them sprawled on their back from the impact.

Within seconds, Kuramochi and Miyuki found themselves flat on their back, blinking at the faces peering down at them. Jun foot was still on air from executing the kick, and Tetsu shaking his head with a frown. Masuko and Tanba had also just arrived, small grins tugging on their lips.

Jun looked down at his two kohai's, his brows' twitching madly while the sound of his voice as he spoke promised more pain to come. "Temera… Fighting here where anyone can see you…" He cracked his knuckles, his face looking livid. "I'm GOING to kill you."

Miyuki and Kuramochi gulped. "Ah."

The entire first years population scattered in every direction right after the sound of Kuramochi and Miyuki's pained yells and a series of unrestraint kicks echoed around them.

* * *

Haruichi gnawed his bottom lip, his eyes focused on Eijun-kun walking in front of them. His friend's shoulders were slumped in a resemblance of defeat and acting like it's an end of the world. They were on their way to cafeteria, but instead of an angry Eijun-kun that nearly kicked Furuya on top of his head this morning in revenge for last night, what greeted them was a— well— probably an 'Eijun-kun _Zombie_'. Haruichi shuddered.

He couldn't help but feel a bit worried. His friend had been acting strange since they saw him this morning. He was walking like he was dragging an elephant, his face scrunched in a grimace, and the crocodile tears actually made him look like a murder victim. Not to mention the depressing dark aura and Haruichi stayed clear away from his friend's side opted to trail behind.

And he hadn't talk to them at all! Eijun-kun not talking at all was kind of lonely and creepy at the same time. Haruichi wasn't even sure if Eijun-kun was aware he and Furuya were still following him from behind. Haruichi couldn't, for the life of him think of anything that could make his friend this down, unless it was about Miyuki-senpai again.

Haruichi tried to reach out to his friend anyway. "A-Ano… Eijun-kun?"

Silence.

"A-Are you still mad about last night?

Huff...

"But—but we already apologized this morning right?"

"Hm."

"Eto… um… Are you excited about tomorrow's practice game?" He persisted.

"Huh."

The pink-haired first-year wasn't deterred. Okay, change topic. "Have you decided what you want for lunch?"

Silence.

"U-Uh… e-eto… Do you think they have puddings?" He asked enthusiastically, hoping that the mention of his favorite dessert will work.

Silence.

Haruichi looked up at Furuya who was walking beside him, his gaze pleading. Furuya merely shrugged, completely uninterested. Haruichi own shoulders slumped. _Mou... What to do?_

Ah!

"Ah… e-eh… Ah! Have you talked with Miyuki-senpai about yesterday's misunderstanding?" He inquired, sure that the question wouldn't be ignored.

Sawamura paused. Haruichi held his breath while Furuya lifted his brow at him in question, curious about what misunderstanding he was talking about. Haruichi just shook his head. He listened intently, hoping to finally have an intelligible response from the other.

"No." Sawamura replied dully and continued to walk forward.

Haruichi couldn't help it anymore and he halted on his stride, looking up at Furuya with eyes now glistening in worry. "F-Furuya-kun." His lips trembled.

Furuya sighed. "Mah, mah. It's not like this is the first time he sulk."

Haruichi shook his head frantically, fisting the pitcher's shirt tightly around his neck. "No, no. This is different! I can feel it! Do something!"

"H-Haruichi, y-you're choking me."

Sawamura ignored the lovers and didn't linger to listen to their mutterings and simply walked on. No, he was actually not listening from the start. He strode on, his mind full of something else.

Mainly, Mika-senpai and Miyuki.

She actually came to talk to him. Shit, she actually came. What was she planning, asking about Miyuki from him? Was it just a coincidence? Does she really intend to meet him?

He clenched his fist tightly, his nerves suddenly frayed with anxiety. Just thinking about the two of them meeting each felt like he was going to collapse from intense apprehension. His hands feel clammy, his breathing clamping on his chest.

No. no. No!

Sawamura grabbed a fistful of his hair and gave himself a loud thump on his chest, making the other students on the vicinity threw his an odd look. He let out a heavy sigh.

_I'm not going to do this again. I said I'm going to trust him. NO need to be so worried._

So what if she wanted to meet him? There's nothing wrong with that.

But—but— Kuramochi-senpai told him that Miyuki didn't want to meet her. THAT meant something right?

NO! It doesn't prove anything at all. And Miyuki is—Miyuki—

…LIKES _him_ right?

Sawamura gasped breathlessly, his face burning red. Clutching his shirt over his heart, he started to nod vigorously to himself. Now, even Haruichi and Furuya stopped in their conversation as they watched their friend acting weirder.

Sawamura ignored them. Shit. Of course Miyuki likes him! He even had that—that—dream—earlier—

Oh god. What the hell with that dream anyway! Is—is—that what's going to happen soon? Is—is—the real Miyuki going to d-do those things to him too? Does Miyuki have any experience about it? Wait, with whom? It can't be— Mika-senpai?

He gritted his teeth. Like hell! She had nothing to do into this! And if ever he actually discovered that she had, so help him, he' going to kill Miyuki!

He might not be the first, but he'll intend to be the most special, ever. Or else, there will be nothing _FIRST _Miyuki ever going to get from him.

He gave a pause. '_No, wait a minute, Eijun. Relax. Mika-senpai is just a troublesome senpai, deshou?' _He slapped both his palm over his cheeks, hyping himself up. The other student's now started to take a step away from him.

"Nothing to worry about. Yosh, yosh, yosh… I didn't even say anything about Miyu—"

Sawamura froze with the sudden realization. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Earlier—He shouted at her that he was no longer a vir— Waahhhh!

No. No. No Way! So stupid! So embarrassing! What hell was he even thinking! Just because of t-that dream— they didn't even kiss in that dream! C-Can that be considered an experience?

Huh? Aree… in that dream, Miyuki was—he was doing something with his hand— around his—

He could feel the heat starting to spread around his body, making him tingling all over. W-Wrong! It was just a d-dream! There nothing special about it! That doesn't mean he's no longer—!

Oh god, Sawamura can even still feel the ghost of his fingers gliding around his shaft, almost making him cu—

He flushed, now more crocodile tears flowing from embarrassment.

It was close. Too close. If he Kuramochi-senpai didn't woke him up, probably— he—he—

Does—Does that mean—he's no longer— he's no longer a vi— vir— _mentally?_

T-That's impossible. Nothing happened. Yes, he lied to Mika-senpai, true, but—

Sawamura was suddenly gripped with an overwhelming fear that he nearly stumbled. He lied. He lied to _her._ He told her that he was no longer—

Gyaahhhhh!

Sawamura wring his hands in panic. W-What is he going to do? What if she'll use that knowledge against him and tell Miyuki about it?

What if she'll tell Miyuki that Sawamura had already been with someone else and the catcher believed her?

He staggered, eyes going wide in mortification.

He had to tell Miyuki about the lie. He had to. He might not _that_ innocent in his dreams, but still—!

But he was apprehensive. If he told him about it, then he had to tell the catcher that he met Mika-senpai again. Should he tell? No. no. Err.. Yes. Yes… Ahhhh! No, no, n—

"Ah, Eijun-kun! Watch out!" Haruichi called out from behind.

Sawamura yelped when he bumped into something solid. Before he could flail and regain his balance, an arm shot around his waist, pulling him close and steadied him on his feet.

"Oi, Oi, Bakamura, watch where you're going! Ahou!" Jun's voice echoed from his right.

"You okay?" A voice inquired softly, rubbing soothing circles around his back.

Sawamura stiffened, his eyes widening as he recognized the voice. Mouth agape, Sawamura started to look up, nervous to discover the person holding him flush against their chest. Sawamura's pulse quickened its beat. He gasped and nearly swallowed his tongue when his watering eyes met Miyuki's worried ones.

Oh shit, no.

You've got to be kidding me!

Not right now. He's not ready yet!

Not yet!

Blood draining from his face, Sawamura looked around and found Jun-senpai and their Captain on his right looking back at him, Ryo-oniisan and Cheetah-senpai on his left and Chris-senpai and Masuko-senpai a bit on the back, Chris' face mirroring Miyuki's worry. Sawamura could also hear his two friends coming towards them from behind.

Sawamura couldn't stop himself anymore. With crocodile tears flooding from his eyes harder than ever, he turned towards Jun who were near him, and bawl with all his worth.

"Waaahhh…! Spitz-Senpai! Sumimasen! I'm no longer a virgin!" He wailed, his voice reverberating around the entire hallway.

Everyone choked.

* * *

**Chapter 10: **_**Dream-'Catcher'**_

_End of Chapter…_

* * *

A/N: Yosha! I'm BACK in civilization! With shower! Good beddings! Electricity! And the best of all, Internet Connection! Wahhh… (TT_TT)… No more mountains to climb for the rest of the year!

So yes, new chapter, and yes, more chapters to come. I'm free till New Year! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!


End file.
